


Emergence

by JLATS



Series: JLATS' post-Frozen 2 [1]
Category: Disney - All Media Types, Frozen (Disney Movies), Frozen 2 - Fandom, post-Frozen 2 - Fandom
Genre: (Obviously), Complete, Elsa and Honeymaren being cuties, F/F, F/M, aka the perfect balance of fluff and angst, but also heartbreaking, everyone's a cute bean in this fic, is stronger than EVER, snow sisters, this is branded with Flangst(TM), until drama starts to fall, while Elsa and Anna are their usual cuties as well, you shall see teheheh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25146724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLATS/pseuds/JLATS
Summary: Elsa's feelings for Honeymaren are blossoming, but at the same time, she keeps receiving sad visions from Ahtohallan in her dreams. Why does it look like it wants to send Anna and Elsa a message?Post-Frozen 2 fanfic, happens one year after the sequel's epilogue.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney), Kristanna - Relationship, Snow Sisters - Relationship, elsamaren - Relationship
Series: JLATS' post-Frozen 2 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821658
Comments: 13
Kudos: 42





	1. A wave of panic

Elsa chew on her oatbran grain bread with a daydreaming gaze at the mountains, watching the clouds gently getting blown by the breeze, and sighing in content.

As if on cue, the wind in front of her started to form into a twirling shape and rush to her, and she recognized it as Gale. It started to do circles around her, ruffling her hair to get her attention. She chuckled as she put it away from her face.

"Not now. I told you, no playing with my hair when I eat."

She smirked as she saw how expressive the wind spirit was, turning around, and she took her mug to drink some hot tea.

"What is it?" Elsa frowned after a while.

She quickly put her mug down next to the rock she was sitting on when she noticed how hurried the spirit was. Elsa never had felt it so agitated. However, it was a mess going and floating around, and Elsa couldn't follow what they meant.

"Gale, you're even worse than me at mimes. Be more clear."

The wind spirit tried their best to indicate her that it was an urgency, but a few floating leaves couldn't help.

"Okay, okay. Use my hands." Suggested Elsa, rising both palms. "Left one is an urgency about the forest, the right an urgency about Arendelle."

Gale urged to float around her right hand. Elsa's eyes widened.

"Oh gods. Is it something bad or are you excited? Left for bad and…"

The spirit immediately rushed to her left hand. Elsa's spine shivered, and it surely wasn't because of the cold nor the wind. She stood up and bumped into her mug, her tea spilling on the grass.

"Nokk! NOKK!"

She had turned to the river as she called, and some circles appeared at the surface, then suddenly the magical horse arrived. It gave her a questioning tilt of the head, but could already feel her panic in her magic.

"Hurry, Arendelle, now!" Was all that Elsa could blabber before running to them, slamming her hand on their neck to freeze them as she jumped and twirled around to sit on their back, and right away started to position herself for high speed riding.

Gale followed her, a bit unsure.

"Tell me more details on the way", ordered Elsa, sensing their hesitation to accompany her or stay in the forest to protect it.

She pressed her ankles against Nokk's body, gently but firmly, and the horse dashed forward, exiting the woods.

As Elsa passed in front of two Giants playing with an enormous rock as a ball, she waved at them and screamed to take care of the forest in her absence. The two Giants instantly stopped their game and turned to the land, following her demand.

Nokk galloped at high speed through the land, and Elsa turned to Gale, which was lucky to be the wind spirit to be able to follow her at that rate.

"Is there a danger threatening the kingdom?" Asked Elsa, panic deforming her voice.

Gale shook some of its leaves in its current, which the Fifth Spirit knew as meaning 'no'. She let out a relieved gasp.

"Is it about Anna? Kristoff? Olaf? _Sven_?" Even dared to ask Elsa.

Now the wind spirit stared at her like she was just dumb.

"Okay, is it about Anna and Kristoff?"

Gale made the familiar movement that Elsa knew was an affirmative nod.

"Oh no. Is it about her or–" She interrupted herself, and lifted her hands from Nokk's neck to show them to Gale.

It was a good thing she was used to ride them while using her powers, because it needed a lot of balance to not hold herself with the current speed of the magical horse.

"Float around my hands. Left if it's about Anna, and right if it's about Kristoff."

She prayed for Gale to not float to her left hand. But sadly, it did.

Nokk felt the way Elsa's muscles suddenly tensed around their body and neighed as they turned their head.

"Keep calm? HOW CAN I KEEP CALM?" Jolted Elsa, feeling their emotion. "Anna is in DANGER!"

Gale quickly floated next to her eyes to make her lift her head again and correct her. It seemed to want to nuance things a bit.

"What?"

The wind spirit twirled around.

"Anna _is_ the danger? Something bad happened _because_ of Anna?" Frowned Elsa. "No, it can't be. She can't do anything bad, what are you talking about?"

Gale wanted to precise the nuance once again, twirling around. Elsa offered both of her hands to have indications.

"I can't believe I'm asking that, but… Is that 'bad thing' positive or negative? Left for positive, and right for negative."

The wind gathered around her left hand.

"Something bad happened… _Thanks_ to Anna?" Understood Elsa, with a confused tone.

The wind spirit finally expressed pure joy since they had started talking, and floated around in happiness. She finally got it!

"What- It's… Wh-what?" Blabbered Elsa, utterly lost. "What do you mean, thanks to Anna?!"

But precisions would be for later, because she saw that they had just arrived to the shore.

"Okay. Gale, go forward. I'll see you there." Said Elsa. She put her hands back on the horse's neck. "Nokk, _underwater!_ "

The Spirit nodded, and jumped in the air to dive into the water with great force. Instantly, they created a bubble of oxygen for Elsa, and she gasped in it. Emotion peppered with a thousand questions made her breathing speed up. What was going on in Arendelle? Anna's last letter was from earlier in the week, which was the regular frequency. She said everything was alright, and she wouldn't lie to her. What can she possibly have done that was bad and good at the same time?

Elsa got thankfully distracted from her panicking thoughts by the vision of underwater rocks and seaweeds passing at very high speed around her. When she rode Nokk underwater, it felt like becoming an arrow piercing through any matter without restriction. She was laid horizontally to allow them both to get even faster. Nokk's speed in their element was so incredible that, when it took humans two days to join the forest and Arendelle, it only took the duo of Spirits a few minutes.

Moments later, she recognized the specific color of the fjord's water, and Nokk made a nod to indicate that she was right; they had arrived, and she had to prepare for emergence. Elsa passed a hand along their neck, took one last gasp of air in the bubble, and Nokk raced upward, vertically now, to pierce the water surface like paper ripping apart, but without making any other water drop than the ones dripping from Elsa. She panted for oxygen, shaking her hair at the sudden return of fresh air, and mentally thanked Nokk for creating the bubble large enough to leave her hair dry. Though she wouldn't care about her appearance given the situation.

She saw the Arendelle ramparts, but most importantly, the guards standing on it and already staring at her.

"STATE YOUR IDENTITY!" Yelled one of them, using a bullhorn.

Elsa rolled her eyes, and couldn't help herself but be sarcastic in that moment. "How many people come to Arendelle by the fjord after appearing form underwater?" She groaned out loud.

Nokk laughed, neighing in approbation. Elsa smiled and waved her arms as the horse arrived near the wall.

"I'm Elsa! I come for an emergency."

From where she was now, she could see that the closest guard to the one who spoke gave him a nudge. "You idiot, you can't recognize her? It's your first day and you already are off the mark."

Elsa bit her lip to not smile, and could see the first guard blushing.

"I was only doing my duty. Uhm… DO YOU NEED HELP TO CLIMB UP?" He yelled down to Elsa.

However, if was useless; for she had already made Nokk form a wave and jump above the rampart. In the curve of the jump, Elsa felt like floating above them in slow motion as she passed, and she could see all the guards drop their jaw and following her with their eyes.

"Oh, you apparently don't." Concluded the guard.

Elsa turned to wink to him as she went down on the other side, and Nokk used the water of one of the fountains of the castle's courtyard to land softly and not break Elsa's knees appart by simply splashing on the cobblestones after so many meters of free fall.

They barely trotted in the courtyard that Elsa already dismounted, thanking them with a stroke, and ran to the castle's doors. She forgot for a moment that she was drenched from shoulders to toes, and muttered a curse as she shook her feet at the entrance and used her magic to surround herself with a drying icy wind.

"Elsa!?" Exclaimed a voice in front her.

She lifted her head, even if she recognized his voice; Kai. She had missed him just as much as her family, and she almost wanted to greet him with a hug. But she had to hurry.

"Kai! Where's Anna?"

The butler bowed and smiled. "At this time, she surely is still sleeping, as you know."

Elsa turned to the clock in the great hall, and saw that it only was 8am. She often lost track of time when she was in the forest, and had completely forgot to check before entering. Indeed, at that time, Anna certainly was still snoring under her sheets. Or above her sheets. Maybe both.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed, and ran up the stairs to Anna's bedroom.

On the way, she passed by some servants, who were surprised by her presence and rush. When she finally arrived in front of the door, she caught her breath and knocked her specific rhythm on the wood.

She heard a ruffle inside, and a bump, like if someone suddenly had no idea what to do after hearing a knock.

"Hum, yeah?" Answered a familiar voice.

"Kristoff?" Frowned Elsa.

The blonde was then struck by the fact she probably had interrupted them in their intimacy. She clenched her fingers nervously.

"So sorry to ask, but…"

"We don't need breakfast this morning, Gerda, thank you." Hurried to say Kristoff, fear in his voice.

"It's Elsa." She said, and now she understood why her specific knocking rhythm hadn't been recognized.

Why was he sounding so nervous?

Kristoff yelped of surprise and rushed to open the door, dragged Elsa in, and closed the door behind them. "ELSA!" He wheezed. "What the heck? You gave me such a fright."

The blonde looked at him in confusion. "What is going on? You're so tensed. Where is Anna? Oh, and, good morning."

Her brother-in-law didn't know what to answer first, and bit her lip as he saw her looking around in the bedroom, looking for Anna.

"Oh, uhm… It's a bit complicated…" Whispered Kristoff.

Elsa was taken aback on his choice of tone. "Why are you whispering? It's 8am, the staff is awake."

Now he seemed embarrassed. But didn't change his whispering tone anyway.

"Maybe you should sit down." He suggested.

"I'm very well standing up, thank you." Grunted Elsa. What was wrong with him?

"I'm saying that because you're exhaling a lot of cold right now. Calm down."

"Will you all _stop_ telling me to calm down?" Frowned the Fifth Spirit in anger. "Nokk and now you… Kristoff, what. Is. Going. On."

"Everything's fine", he tried to lie.

"No, I've been informed of the opposite by Gale. Also…"

Elsa started to point at different things in the room.

"The bed is made, which, don't take it personally, is something neither Anna and you do, which means none of you have slept here last night, and you're currently wearing outdoors clothes, which means you have just arrived from Ahtohallan knows where, and you are _whispering_ , which means that you don't want the staff to know what's happening and you're _pretending_ that Anna is in the bedroom right now so that they don't worry."

Kristoff widened his eyes at her rambling and clever observations, and gulped when the Spirit suddenly stepped forward, snowflakes twirling around her head.

"Alright, alright. Something happened. Anna and I had a little… Fight yesterday."

"You had an argument?" Asked Elsa, her heart breaking.

"No, not the two of us", chuckled the blond nervously. "With… Other… People."

"How many other people?"

He winced. "A dozen...?"

"A _DOZEN?_ "

"I didn't count. She'll be able to tell you, though. _She_ counted."

Elsa's widened eyes were so big that Kristoff could have drowned in it. He coughed and kept talking.

"We went to a pub last night. She needed a break from the duties - please don't interrupt me as I'm explaining, I can see your finger rising - So, we went to that pub… We wore the cloaks you offered us on last holidays to be incognito - those are so comfy, by the way, thank you agai– yeah I keep going - and we drank a few pints, and…"

"Don't tell me that she drank too much…" Muttered Elsa, closing her eyes and pinching the top of her nose.

"No, _she_ was fine. The guys however…"

"The guys? Kristoff, are the people you told me about all men?"

"Yes?" He squeaked.

She was about to gasp, but he held her arms. "Please let me finish", he whispered quickly. "So, they were drunk, okay, and they started to say things about… You."

Elsa stared at him, her mouth dropping.

"Don't tell me that she PUNCHED them for overhearing that?"

"Yeah, that's the part I knew you were going to not like."

"She's the _Queen!_ " Elsa exclaimed, looking around. "Where is she now?"

The blond clenched his eyes shut. "See, that's the part you're going to like even less."


	2. Bag of ice and bale of straw

/ FLASHBACK /

"This is _exactly_ what I needed." Sighed Anna with a content smile.

"What, booze?"

"No, you dummy. A moment with you!"

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, bumping his arm. He smiled and she shook her head. His humor lifted her mood. It has been a long tiring day of Queen duties, and she was exhausted. It was good exhaustion, and she needed that break just as much as she deserved it. The size of her tankard gave a good hint at how much she had planned to cope with.

They lifted their pints and clinked them together. As Anna drank her heavy one with both hands, her ring shone on her left, and Kristoff smiled deeply when the orange diamond caught his eye.

"What?"

Kristoff snapped out of his reverie at Anna's voice. "Uh?"

"You're staring at me."

"Because you're beautiful when you're happy." Smiled Kristoff.

Anna smirked and gave another eye roll, but with a blush this time. She then noticed that his gaze went to her finger.

"You're looking at the ring. Again."

"Because it's as beautiful as you", grinned the man.

Anna had both hands on her pint, so she nudged him with the foot. He jumped with a chuckle.

"Ouch! Hey, we're giving foot hints in public now?"

"What, in kingdom meetings, it doesn't count?" Teased Anna.

"No, it's within the castle, it doesn't count when it's home."

The redhead smiled fondly. She liked the way 'home' resonated in Kristoff's voice when he talked about the Arendelle's castle. It was his home now. It took him a long time to accept it as such, and she gave him all the time he needed to get accustomed to that new life, understanding how odd it would be on the first years.

Kristoff re-adjusted the hood of his cape, the thought of Arendelle's castle reminding him that they had to keep a low profile here to not be recognized. Thankfully, it was cold out and many people in the pub had coats and hoods on, and the low light of the candles on the tables was helping them to be incognito.

Anna noticed that Kristoff's hood had some leather and fur bands, which Elsa cleverly added for him to also be profitable when he would cut ice up the coldest mountains, while Anna's had beautiful patterns sewn by her sister with ice thread, and the whole cloak was in her favorite color. She absentmindedly passed her hand along the ice sewings of her sleeves as she stared at Kristoff.

"You know, I like that you followed my advice for the ice harvesting life."

Kristoff frowned at her sudden change of topic - a habit he was used to anyway - and smiled as he took another sip of his beer. "It's a good idea."

"Remember when you insisted to do royal activities with me and give up on your job?"

"I thought you were about to stab me with your fork."

"We were eating?" Frowned Anna, who didn't recall that detail.

"Unless you were walking around with a fork for no reason, yes." Laughed Kristoff.

Anna smiled as she drank her beer. She smacked her lips after she swallowed. "I want you to be happy. I'd have been heartbroken if you gave up on your passion because of me."

"I'm lucky to have you."

They smiled softly, holding each other's hand under the long sleeves of their coats.

"Yeah, hahaha!" Suddenly exclaimed a man at the counter, and he was so loud that many clients turned to him.

He was laughing hard along two other men, the three of them holding to each other to not fall off their stools. Kristoff and Anna, who were at the closest table, gave an amused look at how drunk they were.

One of them told a joke again, and the first man lost his balance as he laughed, falling backwards and slamming his head on their table. Kristoff hissed in shared pain, and Anna gasped with worry.

"Odin's sake! Are you okay?" She exclaimed.

The man wheezed of laughter, just like his friend. "Yeah, yeah, m'good. Must have slipped on something. Must be her ice!"

His friends roared with laughter at his last sentence, and Anna frowned with a chuckle.

"Wh-what?"

"The bitch's ice. Even when she's gone, it could still be there!" Burped the man as he stood up again, and climbed back on the stool.

His friend tapped him in the back, and they all wheezed again.

"That's all she good at, uh?" Joked one of them. "Flee and leave a mess behind!" He laughed.

"Right now, you're a mess too!" Blurted the third man, and they all cackled.

Kristoff shook his head and returned to his beer, but noticed that Anna was very attentive to what they were saying.

"You can understand their blabber?" Asked Kristoff.

His eyes suddenly widened when he saw how she had her gaze piercing the men's backs.

"Oh, I can understand them _very_ clearly." She muttered, her jaw clenched.

Kristoff knew her enough to already tell that things were going to be bad. Very bad. And indeed, Anna was already standing up. He put his mug back so fast that it splashed on the wood table, and he grabbed her arm.

"Anna!" He whispered, urge in his voice. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Just standing", she pretended, acting innocent.

He couldn't be fooled. "I can see your fist clenching. And you almost have fire in your eyes, feisty pants."

The nickname almost made Anna give up on all her mood, but she still was very angry. Just to make everything worse, one of the three men suddenly blurted:

"Oi! Another pint, next round's on me! To celebrate almost one year of the most stupid abdication ever!"

Anna's eyes widened, and ever under her hood, Kristoff could see how RED she had just got.

"No, nonono…" He whispered, standing up to follow her as she had made her way to the man who just lifted his hand to attract the attention of everyone in the pub.

He saw her approach, not surprised by the fact she was hooded, wearing a cap himself. "Wanna join, fella? Come in the circle!"

"Join the circle if you've been compromised by Elsa the ex-Queen!" Wheezed his friend, tapping the counter in humor at his own joke.

"Raise your glass if you now live the consequences of ma'am 'Yeah I'm a spirit now bye'!" Laughed the third man, and they all cackled.

Anna just stood there, and bit her lip in rage at what she was hearing. Once they retrieved their breathing from their laugh, the first man turned to her. "So, joining in or…?"

He interrupted himself when he saw a fist rushing right at his face. In a 'POW!', he flew backwards, stumbling over his friend, and both fell on the floor.

"AN-!" Started to scream Kristoff, alarmed, but he stopped himself before divulging her identity. He tried to get to her, but the two men had stood up.

"What the hell? Why did you fell on me?"

"That's this dude! He punched me! What the HELL, man?"

"I actually am a woman", winced nervously Anna. "But that's just details now."

She rushed to punch him a second time, anger making her loose control.

"HEY, HEY, HEY!" Stopped Kristoff, holding her by the waist. "Stop it!"

"Let me go!" Grunted Anna. "Did you hear what they said?"

"Stop, they're not worth it!"

"Not _worth_ it?" Blurted the third man, even more drunk that the others. "We still have more worth that this traitor and coward of a Queen. She doesn't even _deserve_ that we still address her like that. How can you defend this _bitch_?"

Kristoff had a chill when he saw Anna's furious face as she turned around.

"Oh, you're so unlucky to be this close." She muttered.

She got off Kristoff's hands, and punched the man right in the nose, and he stumbled on the counter. He brought a hand to his face, and looked at how much he bled from the shock. He glared at Anna.

"You filthy bastard."

He jumped to give Anna her punch back, and Kristoff stopped both. "Yep, that's enough. We're out. We're out!"

However, despite his natural strength, he was too gentle in his move, and both enemies were so enraged that he got pushed aside to the floor. He knocked himself out when he hit his skull down, and fell unconscious. Anna was so busy taking down two men at a time then that she didn't notice.

Kristoff slowly blinked as he returned to reality. He thought 'what an odd dream'. And when he realized that he was in the pub of his dream, he dearly hoped it was just a dream. But then he saw a stool flying in front of him, and thought 'crap. that wasn't a dream.'

Anna was giving punches all around like if she had an unlimited amount of fists. More and more men joined in, sharing the beliefs of the one who paid them drinks, and got knocked down mid-air by the redhead who–

Redhead. Kristoff's eyes suddenly widened. Her hood had fell over, and now she had her long untied hair floating around as she hit people disrespecting her sister. She had a smile at the corner of her lips, and a spark in the eye, and Kristoff understood that she actually _loved_ that fight. In another context, he would have stared at her with dreamy eyes, being the fierce tiger she was, but now he had to hurry. He shook his dizzy head and stood up.

The blond almost fell over when one of the men ran outside, and the mountaineer followed him with the eyes through the window, then gulped when he saw the door open again, and new men entered the pub. To his biggest fearful realization, they all looked like muscular henchmen, and also agreeing on hating on Elsa.

"This is bad. This is really bad."

Anna noticed their entrance and seemed actually _happy_ to know that most of Arendelle's people who spit behind Elsa's back were about to meet her punches.

They rushed to her, and Anna send one of them flat on the counter, grabbed the arm of another one and slammed him on the wall, dashed under the feet of a third one to make them fall, and used the move of a fourth to twist his wrist and make him punch one of his friends.

"I have to make her stop training with the guards", muttered Kristoff, and he ducked when a man suddenly flew to him and fell on his back on the pub's floor.

A few blinks of the eyes later, Anna dusted her hands and looked around. In a concert of grunts and groans, several men laid here and there or rolled where they were with their hands grasping their private parts. The other clients were hiding behind tables with scared eyes.

She gave Kristoff a proud look, and he almost fainted when he saw her bruises.

"Alright!" Exclaimed Anna, out of breath. "Someone else got something to say about Elsa?" She asked, cracking her knuckles.

/ END OF FLASHBACK /

"This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard", commented Elsa once Kristoff finished his story.

He scoffed.

"Really? More ridiculous than when Anna told you about Olaf wearing clothes?" He asked, trying to ease her.

She didn't reply anything but had a thinking pout, and Kristoff wondered if she actually considered the question.

"Did any of those men lodge a complaint?" Asked Elsa.

Kristoff looked at her in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

She finally stopped pacing around in the bedroom and faced him. "The men. Did they file a report? Press charges?"

"What, against Anna? Nooo, they were too ashamed to have been knocked down by a woman." Kristoff chuckled. "I'm actually pretty sure that, given how surprised they were by her attack and drunk they got, they won't realize it was Anna. Only a few witnesses - clients, and the staff of the pub - remember her face."

Elsa nodded, and resumed to her pacing. It was an excellent thing that she was in control of her magic now, otherwise the carpet would be stained by an ice trail. However, he could tell by the fresh air, she was thinking fast and deep.

"Have you talked with those witnesses? Like… Proceeded, you know."

"I did what needed to be done. That's why I stayed up all night. I went to everyone's place, and took care of it. It's a sealed secret now. Everything's settled and fine."

The Fifth Spirit let out a sigh, and her relief seemed to instantly warm the air in a snap. She passed a hand in her hair. "Thank you. For taking care of it. You did well."

She put a hand on his shoulder, and he looked down at her. But he didn't know what to say. It was a decision that came to him naturally, and Elsa was glad of it. He simply nodded.

Her laid hand turned into a nervous pat-pat on her shoulder. "Now you have a couple of seconds to tell me where the heck Anna is or I'll have a panic attack."

Kristoff gulped. "Well, as I told you, she got a few… Aftereffects due to the fight."

"Kristoff."

"But we couldn't go back in the castle. Even at three in the morning, when we went back, night staff would have noticed her state."

"Kristoff…"

"And, uhm, there was no way we would go to the infirmary. Gerda would never have allowed her to keep on her royal duties afterwards, which scares her more than anything lately…"

"KRISTOFF."

He gulped and yelped, looking at his sister-in-law. "Yep?" He squeaked.

"Where. Is. She."

"In the stables?" He muttered with a high pitch voice.

She just stared at him. "That's it? She's hiding in the stables?"

"Yes, with Olaf. She has a black eye and some bruises, so he's taking care of her while I'm here pretending that we're in the bedr–"

"She was in the stables all along and you've been acting like something way worse had happened to her?"

He missed a heartbeat. "Oh, I didn't think how simple the truth was. And I had no idea you would take it that well. I mean, the _stables_ …"

"I live in a _forest_ , Kristoff. Why would that shock me? Also, she's safe. I don't care about where she is as long as she's safe."

The blond nodded. "Fair enough. Wait, you're leaving?"

She had passed the threshold. "I'm gonna keep an eye on her. The good one, for I have understood she only has one functioning, right?"

He didn't even take note of her funny sarcasm, panicking as he saw her go in the corridor again. "Don't leave me!"

"Just stay here. And, I don't know, just sleep. You need it, it will calm down your nerves. And you've been a really good leader by taking care of everything to fix the situation."

She turned around, and closed the door behind her. Kristoff simply stood there, looking at the wooden door in disbelief.

"A good leader?" He repeated, muttering to himself.

A blush filled his cheeks. "…Thank you…?"

* * *

"Gale is a true snitch", grumbled Anna as she buried her face in her hands.

Sven grunted in approbation. It was known that Gale's visits on early mornings, bringing the matinal wind, often led to spy on some people in the kingdom.

Olaf was seated on the straw bale next to Anna, and he patted her thigh. "Naaaah, they meant good. Also, that's what wind does. Being a snitch. News and rumors go with the wind, you see." Added Olaf poetically.

Anna jolted her face out of her hands, glaring at both Sven and Olaf. "Don't you GET it? Elsa will _know_! She'll kill me. And then kill Kristoff. And then kill me again."

The snowman winced and exchanged a gaze with the reindeer. "If that can reassure you", he said with a soft voice, "I doubt that Elsa has the soul of a murderer."

"Sometimes I doubt about it myself", said a voice behind them.

The three of them jumped and screamed of surprise. Sven slipped on his hooves in the box and slammed the wall, and Olaf fell over and landed head first in the straw.

"…When there are situations like this one." Finished Elsa, her tone frigid.

Anna froze in fear with a wince, and turned around very slowly. They were in the darkness, only lit by the day light passing by the stables door, but distant, for Anna had hidden herself in the last box. In the darkness, she could see Elsa's big eyes shine and stare at her intensely, and she gulped.

"Hhhhhiiiii", she forced-smiled, teeth clenched.

Elsa stepped forward, and helped Olaf stand up again after being flipped upside down, his feet waving in the air.

She came closer to Anna, and started to conjure magic ice in her left hand. It had a blue glow, brightening the room, and was menacing by the cold it suddenly brought and the twirling snowflakes around her fist. The redhead gulped and winced, squinting the only eye that wasn't close already, and retracted a bit on the straw bale.

And nothing happened. Anna just waited, her eyes closed, whimpering a bit in apprehension. She felt Elsa's presence close, and heard her squat on the straw of the floor. Timidly, she opened her eye, and was surprised to see two very caring blue eyes staring at her, inspecting her face at the glow of her magic.

"Are you okay?"

Anna retrieved a normal breathing, gasping a bit. Elsa was using her magic to bring light in the room, and she made the glowing snowflake go out of her hand, sending them float above them and glow strong enough to lit the whole box. Sven and Olaf stared at it with admirative eyes.

Elsa passed a hand along Anna's face. "I asked you a question."

"Uh? I, uh… It's…"

"Did you knock your jaw as well?" Teased Elsa, seeing how speechless she was, despite having hearing her talk when she entered the stables.

Anna pouted and blushed. With the color of her injured eye, it became comical. "So you know."

"Of course I know. And I've been talking with Kristoff. So I also know _why_."

The young sister looked down, ashamed. "I know what you're thinking. I know what you're going to say. I'm the worst, and–"

Elsa smiled and lifted Anna's chin so she would look at her. "Do you? Do you really know what I'm going to say?"

Anna's lips trembled when she saw how caring Elsa was. "But I'm the worst example. I'm the Queen, and I got angry at some drunk guys, and I don't even deserve to–"

"Shhh…"

"But they were mean! And I just don't like it. I'm sorry, I just can't stand it. And I just… I had to, Elsa, I'm so sorry."

Tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks, and Elsa bent her head to the side with a smile as she gently rubbed them off.

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked, her voice soft and calm.

"Because you must be so _ashamed_! And I'm ashamed! And I should never have done that."

"We agree on the last point." Smiled Elsa. "But I'm not ashamed. I never will."

Anna blinked and looked at her, gulping. "What?"

"I never will be ashamed of you, Anna, come on. I'm actually even impressed that you opposed a dozen men."

"There were fifteen, actually." Corrected Anna automatically. She then gasped when she realized her own words. "Oh gosh, sorry, I shouldn't have added that, I'm so sorr–"

"You don't need to feel sorry, Anna. It's okay. You're safe now. That's all that matters. Nobody _died_ , and Kristoff solved everything. It's okay."

Anna nodded, and a new wave of tears went down her face. "But I'm the worst Queen."

"No you're not. Anna, look at me. You're not."

It was difficult for the redhead to see her sister through the tears, but Elsa was so close and exhaling so much love and support than she felt it in her heart. Instinctively, she jumped in her arms, and gasped above her shoulder. Elsa hugged her back, and gave a smile to Olaf and Sven.

"Thanks for looking after her, guys."

Olaf shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing. We kinda improvised. I don't know much about alcohol, but if it tints eyes like that, I don't want any of it ever."

Both sisters chuckled, and Elsa briskly parted the hug to look at Anna. The redhead rubbed her tears and her nose, sniffing. "I need to take care of that." Elsa said with a frown.

She waved her left hand, the other still holding Anna's arm, and conjured an ice bag in a sparkling glow. She lifted it and very softly applied it on Anna's bruises and black eye.

Anna hissed. "Cold cold cold cold cold…"

"Yeah, that's the point." Smiled the Fifth Spirit.

Her sister moaned in pain, and Elsa took her hand to indicate her to hold it. "Here. Keep it on your eye for a while."

Anna nodded, and immediately regretted it with the move. Her head felt dizzy as well, from the tiredness, the alcohol, and everything. She tilted it to the side, and Elsa put her hand on the side of her head.

"Hmmmm… It's actually soothing…" Admitted Anna.

Elsa puffed. "When you'll be done, I'm putting you to bed. You need to rest. We'll talk about it later in the day."

Anna sniffed as an agreement. "What are we going to talk about now, then?"

Her elder smiled. "Well, we have a few weeks to catch up on, don't we?"

Anna finally smiled back. "Yes. You first! What's new in the forest?"

The blonde gave her a smirk. "Well, there are some changes you're going to get _crazy_ about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers: Is there a day where you'll get tired of putting tiny cliffhangers at the end of your fanfic chapters?
> 
> me: Never :)


	3. Demonstrations

**Chapter 3: Demonstrations**

The three of them walked around the bedroom, after letting Olaf and Sven together for the morning as old pals.

Elsa turned to her sister and brother-in-law.

"Okay, you two. I think that sleep is on the agenda for today." Smiled Elsa, on a maternal tone. "You're lucky we're on Sunday."

"I'd never have let Anna go in a pub on a week day", promised Kristoff.

He took his shoes off and walked to the loveseat.

"You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the chair."

Anna turned to him, so fast that she almost lost her balance because of how heavy her head felt, and had to hold herself to Elsa. "Wait, what? No, this is ridiculous…"

"You two haven't seen each other in a while. I'd be cruel to prevent you from a cuddle time. Go on, I'll take the chair. You know it's a comfortable one anyway."

Anna pouted, and climbed on the bed as Elsa thanked Kristoff. The elder sat against the bed frame, and Anna used her body as a pillow. The man started to sleep, but Anna had her thoughts preventing her from doing so.

"Elsa… Do you really think that I'm worth of being Queen?" Mumbled Anna.

It was almost inaudible due to both her tiredness and shame.

"Of course, Anna. I swear. Also, you've been ruling for almost a year now, and I haven't heard any bad feedback about it."

Elsa added a smirk. "Well, not catastrophic enough to be heard until the forest, at least."

Anna chuckled against her belly.

"Ah, a laugh at last!" Smiled Elsa. "It's a victory."

"Hmmm-hmm…"

Anna's head was getting heavier on Elsa, and she could tell her sister would snore anytime soon. However, the redhead resisted the sleep as long as she could.

"Elsa?" She asked, lifting her head.

The blonde looked down at her younger, with a sigh. "How come every time I visit, you always force yourself to stay awake longer? Come on, you've been up all night. Close your eyes."

Anna tapped Elsa's belly. "No, wait, let me talk." She said, in a drowsy voice.

"I'm listening."

"Do you think a Queen can have my character?" She pouted.

Elsa's eyebrows expression melted at the question. "Anna… Your impulsiveness is what makes you _you_. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. People of Arendelle admire the asset it brings to your reign. Trust me."

Anna mumbled something like another 'hmmm-hmm', turning her head down again.

"Now, don't make me sing Mama's lullaby. It's time to sleep."

"I'm 22, you know? There's no need to lull m–"

Elsa's finger already stroked down her nose.

"Alright, I got it." Gave up Anna.

Elsa started to regularly stroke Anna's nose, but it wasn't really useful. Her sister's breathing had already changed, and she had stopped talking. Her head tilted a bit on Elsa's abdomen, and she started to snore in a snap.

The blonde chuckled.

"Sleep well."

She passed a hand in Anna's hair, refreshing her a bit. Her head against the bed frame, she realized that on the other hand, she wasn't tired at all. Elsa had eaten her breakfast already, and it was almost 9am, added to the fact that riding Nokk always gave her lots of energy.

Time would be long waiting for Anna to finish sleeping. And she wouldn't change her position and interrupt her sister's sleep for anything in the world. Slowly, Elsa lifted a hand and moved her wrist. In a gust of fresh air, she opened the window just enough for Gale to enter.

"I could sense you twirling outside for a while now. Do you actually enjoy spying on people?" Whispered Elsa.

Gale had the equivalent of a giggle, and they flew to the nearby flower vase to play with the plant's leaves.

"No no no, don't play with indoors flowers. Kristoff spent a lot of time picking those for Anna." Scolded Elsa, still low on her voice to not wake up the Queen.

The wind spirit swooped next to Kristoff. The blonde thought they were about to wake him up for fun, and was about to be frowning again, but thankfully, they only observed him.

There was a silence, only broken by Anna's snores and the soft ringing of the wind. Gale seemed to be interrogative, hovering above the two lovers.

"They drank too much", smiled Elsa as an answer. "That's why they're so tired."

Her smile stretched when a pun came to her mind.

"And they didn't even drink spirits", whispered Elsa, then she wheezed.

Gale rang and twirled loudly in a shared laugh, and they both went into a cracked giggle. Elsa had to mask her mouth with her hand to not burst of laughter and wake her family up.

"Okay, okay." She said once she retrieved her regular breathing. "Now go back to the Northuldra, and tell them that Arendelle is safe. And no need to be dramatic, uhm?"

Gale nodded and exited the room. Elsa shook her head and closed the window behind them. She lowered herself on the sheets, and closed her eyes to meditate and pass the hours. 

* * *

"We're all gathered today…"

" _Not all_ ", muttered Anna.

She clenched her coat against her, trying with all her goodwill not to cry. Her braids hanged on each side of her tired face as she looked down. She hadn't slept in a long, too long, time.

The bishop kept going on his speech. "…and the terrible loss of our King and Queen…"

Anna clenched her coat harder. She grasped it with so much force that she thought for a moment her fingers would rip it out. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Be strong. That's what they want. That's what they need.

Elsa blinked as she turned around when she heard Anna whisper this mantra to herself. She got a bit blinded by the sudden light of the room of memories. Why was Ahtohallan showing her something in the middle of her meditation? She wasn't even dreaming. And it had been a while since the magic source sent her memories statues in her dreams.

Unless it was a memory of hers… That her brain acted in her mind as she probably had fallen to sleep. No, it couldn't be it; for two main reasons: Elsa could tell she wasn't fully asleep, still feeling both the bed frame at the back of her head and the fresh air of the memory room at the same time. And secondly… She gasped as the noticed, putting a hand on her mouth. This wasn't a memory of hers… But Anna's.

Elsa's eyes widened as she walked through the scene literally frozen in time. A crowd, with everybody wearing mourning clothes… Some Arendelle guards, looking stiff… A bishop, currently reading a sorrow speech… And, Elsa pained to look at it: the two funerary stones of her parents. In the middle stood Anna, younger than her current self. Elsa couldn't help but try to guess how old she was as she walked to the statue, until it hit her; of course she knew her age when their parents died at sea. 15. She was only 15. And in that moment, in a slap, at the terrible news, Anna had ended her teenage years. Her parents were dead, and she barely knew how to stand royally in front of a crowd.

The Fifth Spirit gasped and some tears rolled on her face. Ahtohallan, why? Why this memory? Why now? Usually, when Elsa visited the glacier from time to time, she strategically avoided the bad memories. Was the source punishing her from doing so by forcing her to face this one? Elsa rubbed her crossed arms, curling a bit on herself as she walked to the memory of her sister. No, she could sense it in the magic air, Ahtohallan wasn't punishing her in any way. They never had this kind of feeling toward each other anyway, they always shared respect in the sort of relationship they had. Then why showing this? Now? The same questions bumped in Elsa's head again and again, and she had finally reached Anna's level.

Elsa didn't rub the tears falling on her face and could feel them dig her cheeks, like furrows in dry earth. As she bent her head to see Anna's expression while the bishop kept talking and the crowd remained silent, she was surprised to see that her sister wasn't crying. But by the way her eyes clenched shut, and her pout, she knew that she was close too; she knew that expression very well.

The blonde never really dared to touch the memory directly; either good or bad. Yet now, she wanted to put her hand on Anna's shoulder so badly. She looked so small. Looking down, a bit curled on herself like Elsa ironically was now, she seemed like a child. A child who suddenly got forced into adulthood, and new tears rolled on Elsa's face as she let out a sob at this realization.

She was about to bring her hand on her shoulder, when suddenly Anna moved, and looked to her right. Elsa was so focused on her that she didn't pay attention to the fact that the bishop had ended his speech, and the crowd and soldiers were departing. The elder thought for a moment that her sister was looking at the funerary stone on her right, but it seemed like she was looking at the space between her and the stone. Elsa frowned in confusion, and noticed only then that Anna actually wasn't exactly in the middle. She had left a place… Some space… For her sister.

"I'm sorry she didn't come", suddenly muttered Anna to the stones, her voice barely a whisper. She either didn't want to be heard, or was too sad to be stronger. "I'm sorry."

Elsa gulped at the way her soft, young voice echoed in the room.

"No, _I'm_ sorry…" Elsa said, her mouth trembling as she cried again. "You shouldn't have waited for me… Oh, Anna…"

She reached with her hand to touch the white memory, but the princess briskly moved, joining the crowd after a sniff. Elsa's knees buckled, and she fell to the ice ground, tears going down her face. She looked at the memory of Anna walking away in sorrow, helpless.

* * *

Anna slowly woke up with a confused frown and a moan. Why was her face feeling _wet?_ She blinked weakly, still a bit tired, and rubbed her face to take off the water on it. At the feeling of it, she understood it wasn't water; it felt sticky, tacky. Those were tears.

Confused, Anna looked up, and suddenly jolted at the sight.

"Elsa?"

The blonde jumped in surprise, as she didn't see that Anna had woken up. She urged to remove the tears off her face, which had rolled under her chin and accidentally fell on Anna, and she sniffed as she rubbed her eyes.

"Elsa, what is it?"

"H-hey… It's nothing", said the elder in a reassuring voice.

Anna blinked, sitting up. She was fully awaken now. And faced her sister. "No, it's not nothing. You just _cried_ . A _lot_. What is it?"

Elsa looked elsewhere, hoping she wouldn't ask.

"Did you have a nightmare? Was it a vision?"

Damn. She did.

Anna had gained a lot of wisdom through the last months; she knew exactly what would upset Elsa, and in which way. Here, she could tell that Elsa wasn't crying because of something she reminded herself; whatever made her cry had been _submitted_ to her.

"What was it?" Insisted Anna, having no answer from her elder.

Elsa bit her lip as she looked around in the bedroom to avoid her gaze. Anna misinterpreted when she saw that Elsa's eyes looked at Kristoff.

"Do you want us to go to another room to talk about it?" Whispered the younger. "It's okay if you don't want Kristoff to hear. I understand." Added Anna, already going off the sheets.

Elsa grabbed her arm to stop her. The redhead noticed that she was slightly trembling. Whatever she had seen had shocked her. "No, stay. That's not it… I just…"

There was a silence.

"You just don't want to look at me in the eyes", noticed Anna. She sounded offended, but however was comprehensive.

It took a while, then Elsa finally consented to look at her sister. Anna's teal blue eyes were so big and filled with support that she could burst into tears right then. The hand she had on her arm tightened more. Surprised, Anna put her fingers on it.

"Please talk to me. What was it?"

Elsa gulped. "I don't know how to explain it."

Anna bent her head with a smile. "Take your time."

She looked completely awake now, and Elsa wondered if she had slept enough. The blonde turned to the clock of the room.

"Have you even slept? What time is it? I don't want you to–"

"I'm fine, you little dummy. Look at me." Insisted Anna, pulling Elsa's shoulder back to her so she would face her again. "Go on."

Elsa breathed in, and out, calmly. "It's Ahtohallan. I don't know why, but it showed me a memory… It was one of yours."

Anna stared at her with some confusion. "Isn't that… Normal?"

"It is. But I rarely get visions of…"

The elder clenched the hand she had on the sheets. "Anna, I saw the funeral ceremony of Mother and Father. The one you…"

Elsa bit her lip, and suddenly talked fast, like she had just dropped a bag of feelings that instantly spilled. "…attended alone. And where you forced yourself to not cry, because you wanted to act like an example, a good example, and you didn't want the crowd to see you as weak, but as a strong leader. And you were alone to give them this impression. Because I wasn't there. And I know the pain that it caused you, and I could see the way you had waited for me, and how it hurt you, and…"

"Elsa, Elsa, Elsa… Calm down…" Interrupted Anna.

In her rambling, Elsa had stopped whispering, and was now breathing heavily in an anxiety attack.

"But you… You…" Gasped Elsa, breathless.

"It's in the past. All of it is in the past." Assured her sister. "I'm good. Here, look."

She approached her, still kneeling on the sheets as Elsa was sit against the bed frame, and hugged her warmly. "We're together now. Always. And forever. Okay?"

She could feel Elsa breathing calm down little by little, and her arms trembled as she hugged her back. After a while, she seemed to be lulled in her younger's embrace, and passed a hand in Anna's hair, which she had untied before going to bed. "Th-thank you." She gasped.

"You're very welcome", smiled Anna.

They parted the hug, and Elsa had a frown. "Why did Ahtohallan show me this memory? What the hell?"

Anna giggled at her expression. She shrugged. "I don't know. You more than anyone knows how it works. If that's even a 'it'."

She bent her head. "Are you sure you haven't been… Hallucinating? I mean, not in the hallucination way. I meant that positively. I mean… Are you certain that you weren't daydreaming? Or just dreaming?"

Elsa shook her head. She was confused, but one thing was for sure: it had been real. "No, I genuinely connected to Ahtohallan. It can't be my imagination. It felt like I was actually there. But as I didn't attend the ceremony, it can't be, right?"

Anna winced. "Yeah."

She didn't seem convinced, so Elsa tried to remember a significative detail. "Let me think of something… The bishop. He was on your right."

Anna's eyes widened. She remembered every detail of this terrible moment of her life, so her jaw dropped. Elsa noticed her reaction.

"How could I know that if weren't there?"

The redhead was speechless, which was rare and said a lot on her astonishment. "Okay, now I believe you." She admitted after a few seconds.

There was a long silence, awkward and emotional, only punctuated by Kristoff's sleepy breathing.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Murmured Elsa.

Anna got pushed aside by her elder as she went down of the bed.

"No, wait, Elsa. We can talk about it."

The blonde didn't reply, and simply walked to the door.

"Elsa, look at me, please!"

She turned around, confused. "What?"

Her blinking and face were so cute that Anna realized that Elsa genuinely wanted to go to the bathroom. "Oh. You were serious. I thought…"

Elsa snorted, and stepped out. "We'll talk about it again at lunch. Sleep, for now, okay?"

Anna nodded, and laid down on the sheets with a smile. Her collar was still fresh from Elsa's cold tears that had dropped on it.

* * *

"And what's the great news you wanted to tell Anna about the forest?" Asked Olaf as he grabbed some raisin grapes from a plate to give them to Kristoff.

He accidentally stuck his wooden fingers to a grape, and shook it nervously. It detached from his arm, and Kristoff helped him plant it in his body again with an amused eye roll.

"Oh, yes! You said you wanted to tell me something." Smiled Anna with a beaming face.

She was delighted that he changed the topic. It had been an hour now that they hadn't stop talking about the odd Ahtohallan memory submission, and she wanted to move on.

Elsa put her piece of cake to her mouth, pointing at him with her spoon. "Right! So…"

"Is it about Honeymaren?" Asked Olaf, interrupting.

Elsa suddenly coughed, almost choking. Anna and Kristoff turned to her with astonished looks, and Olaf smiled widely.

"So it _is_ about Honeymaren."

The blonde knocked her fist against her chest, trying to dislodge the piece of cake that got struck in her throat.

Anna passed a hand in her back, worried and amused. "Are you okay?"

Elsa nodded vividly, eventually swallowing correctly, and gave a dark gaze to Olaf.

"What?" Shivered the snowman, understanding he did something wrong but not understanding why.

Kristoff smiled as he took a sip of his glass. "So, what is it?"

Elsa wiped her mouth and cleared her throat. "We made some changes in the Northuldra village. We redesigned the main place with the tents, and made it bigger due to the new needs…"

She put her napkin down, and lifted both her hands, waving her arms around. Anna lifted her eyes and her smile widened as a three dimensional scale model made out of ice appeared in the air above the table with a magic glow. Kristoff let out an appreciative whistle, while Olaf gasped a "Waoh!" that was way less discreet, and he bounced with happiness on the pile of books on which he was sitting to be at the level of the table.

He almost fell off the pile, and Anna caught him right in time. She was now used to him falling over the pile of books, especially when he decided to read one of them in the middle of meals to give Kristoff and her some random trivia facts.

"I added an access to the river with some ice stairs on the West… For the elders among the villagers." Indicated Elsa as she pointed at a part of the relief map. She lifted her index finger, and a tiny stair case appeared, joining a field to a flow of snowflakes that glowed in a line, symbolizing the river.

Anna's eyes sparkled at the vision of the wonderful details that displayed above her head, and when Elsa showed another addition that the other spirits and her made to the village, she saw the admiration in her younger sister's eyes, and had an emotional smile about it. She felt like she was 8 years old again, making it snow indoors in the great hall for her 5 years old sister. Anna let out a giggle as Elsa illustrated some Giants walking around the valley with her ice magic.

The map was getting so gigantic now - and Elsa pretty much represented the whole forest there, Kristoff was amazed by how flawless and intricate Elsa's ice could get - that it hovered the whole room. It was clear blue, and filtered the light in a beautiful way; the food on the table now appeared like they were underwater, covered by the floating model. Elsa kept going on her explanations, as her family remained silenced, too attentive and jaw-dropping to say anything, until she finished enumerating all her additions to the Sami village.

"And that's it. I guess. I'll send you my drawings in my next letter if I forgot something and only notice it when I go back."

Anna smiled and nodded, finally lowering her head. Her neck hurt a bit from spending so much time staring at the ceiling, and the fight of the day before.

"You know, I've said it a hundred times and I'm gonna say it again: you could be the best architect in the world."

"Thank you", replied Elsa, who indeed replied that for a hundred times as well.

Anna suddenly gasped when the blonde made the specific move of the hands that Anna knew was going to erase everything.

"NO, WAIT!"

"What?" Panicked Elsa, stopping in her move, and everybody was staring at her.

Anna realized how dramatic she had been, and laughed nervously. "I just… Can you leave it here? Please? It's… It's very pretty."

Elsa blinked. "But it's taking most of the place."

Kristoff shrugged. "It's at more than three meters from the floor, we're good."

The Fifth Spirit was still confused. "But it's filtering the light! You won't see much…"

"I like it." Giggled Olaf, looking around, appreciating how everything seemed blue now.

Elsa looked at them all, genuinely lost. "It's very unpractical…"

"But it's beautiful." Said Anna, passing a hand in her elder's back. "Can you leave it for a few days? You'll just have to think about it to vanish it, right?"

"Yes, but…"

The redhead bent her head. "Don't tell me that the Northuldra never compliment your work and creations, Elsa."

"Of course they do. It's just that…" Blabbered the blonde, and she understood what Anna meant by her words. "…When it's of no use anymore, I just make it disappear. That's all."

"Well I think this model should stay. It's a nice deco." Smiled Anna as she threw a berry in her mouth.

Elsa smiled warmly. "Okay."

* * *

A hour passed, and Gerda suggested that the sisters should take some coffee in one of the living rooms while Kristoff and Olaf left for the stables. Gerda was delighted to see Elsa as well, and made sure that she had the most comfy cushions when she sat down on the couch.

"Thanks, Gerda." Chuckled the blonde.

"You're welcome, Your Highness", smiled the servant, before exiting the room.

Elsa lifted her eyebrows. "What did she call me?"

"'Your Highness', I think." Laughed Anna. "Why? You seem surprised."

"But I'm not Queen anymore."

"You're still a Princess." Noted Anna.

"Only technically… And… I don't know, I'm not sure I deserve to have royal titles anymore."

"She probably said that more in a habit than anything else. And you have no idea how many dignitaries still call you Queen. And many address you as Princess Elsa. I don't mind. And it's way less weird than if she called you 'Your Spirit'." Joked Anna.

The elder nudged her. Anna laughed again. She had missed those little gestures. Her smile disappeared as she remembered that Elsa only was passing by.

"When do you need to go back? You probably have urgent stuff to do…"

Elsa shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous. The others can keep an eye on the forest for now. I can stay for coffee. And more than the whole afternoon. You know what? I won't be leaving until your eye get better."

Anna smiled fondly as a thank you, and Elsa smiled back on the couch.

"On that note, could you… Uh… Make that ice bag again?"

"Sure."

The Fifth Spirit twirled her hands, and in a few blue swooshes, a new and fresh ice pouch appeared in her palms. She stood up to put it in Anna's hand, and helped her apply it. "Go slowly, I made it really cold so it can stay for hours."

"Great", said Anna, and she focused on applying it.

She then looked at Elsa with her able eye while she sat back down. "Soooo… Are we going to talk about her?"

Elsa frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"If what you wanted to tell us wasn't linked to Honeymaren, then why did you nearly choke on cake when Olaf said her name? You got all abashed."

"I wasn't _abashed!_ " Exclaimed Elsa, clearly blushing.

Anna chuckled. "Well, if you _weren't_ abashed, you are _now_ …"

"Stop it. I'm not."

"Oh yeah? Weird, because your ice bag strangely just got colder. And if that sign weren't enough, there also are snowflakes floating above your head."

Elsa's eyes widened. She lifted her head quickly, but noticed there was nothing in the air. Anna burst out of laughter.

"You just CHECKED!"

The elder gave her a murder look. "It's not nice of a Queen to lie."

"You're the one who fell for the trick." Cackled Anna.

"This is just mean. You know that it's one of my biggest fears than to loose control again."

"That will never happen, you and I both know that." Smiled the redhead reassuringly. "You're in full control now."

Elsa agreed, but she sent a frown to her sister anyway. Anna stood up and sat next to the blonde on the couch. She checked the open door to make sure nobody was entering, and bent to her sister.

"Come on, tell me. What is going on with Honeymaren?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *put hands on each side of mouth* ELSAMAREN INCOMINNNNNG
> 
> Also yes I will headcanon that Elsa could be a brilliant architect until the second I DIE
> 
> And also also yes Anna is Elsa's #1 fan but that doesn't prevent her from being the biggest dork as well
> 
> PS: I internally cried writing about the Ahtohallan vision of the funerary scene, sorry not sorry if I killed you there but just know that I'm the first victim.
> 
> Did ya like this chapter? Please drop a little comment, those are awesome. Cheers!


	4. Falling into place

**Chapter 4: Falling into place**

"Odd feelings when you're around Honeymaren, uh?"

Elsa fidgeted with the sewing of the cushion, not looking up.

"Yes." She simply muttered, blushing.

"Elsa. Come on. Have you considered that maybe it was… More than just friendship?"

"But… We've known each other for several months only…"

"For almost a _year_ ", specified Anna, chuckling. "Sis, this is absolutely normal."

Elsa looked up, still holding the cushion against her. She had a pout that was a mix of confusion and emotion, and Anna found it adorable.

"Look at you." Laughed Anna. "You don't even know what to think."

The blonde grumbled. "I know very well what I think. My thoughts are very clear." She groaned and planted her head in the cushion. "…And this is exactly the problem."

Anna laughed in a light way, as she did for the passed hour during Elsa's explanations.

"Why are you laughing so much?" Pouted Elsa, finally lifting her face and looking at her.

The redhead had her cheek against her palm, her elbow on the arm of the seat, smiling widely at Elsa's state. "Because you're super cute. I haven't seen you blush like that in a long while."

"Don't mock me." Muttered Elsa, playing with the sewing of the cushion again.

"Okay, I stop. I didn't want to upset you. It's just… Gosh, was I like that in the first months with Kristoff?"

Elsa finally smiled. "Probably. I can't imagine how I look like, but… You were pretty much starstruck."

"That's the word. See? You're _starstruck_." Pointed Anna, who always loved the romantic terms.

The Fifth Spirit clenched the cushion harder, and moaned. "I don't knowwww… I have to think about it."

"You think too much." Reminded Anna, for this was a fact they both knew.

She noticed how obsessed Elsa was about the topic given her body language, and rose up from her seat. "Come on. Let's go to Arendelle's village. It will change your mind."

Slowly, Elsa put the cushion aside. Anna grabbed her arm to make her speed up.

"ANNA!" Exclaimed the blonde, shaken from her daydream.

"You _have_ to see the changes we made in some streets. The Northuldra camp changed? Well, here too!"

They ran in the corridors.

"Change is great." Smiled Elsa after a while, convinced thanks to Anna's contagious enthusiasm.

"Change is great." Winked Anna.

* * *

The sun had set over the Forest, and the embers of the camp fire only shone in a fainted light.

"You seem exhausted", smiled Honeymaren.

Elsa rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, Anna wanted to play charades last night to catch up on all the weeks I couldn't come. And we did round after round after round… We went to bed at like, 3 in the morning." Chuckled the blonde. "It was a lot of fun. But now I'm _weary_."

Honeymaren laughed at the choice of vocabulary. Elsa still had such royal manners, in her way of acting and talking. She patted their travel bags to make them comfortable to lie down on against the tree.

"You shouldn't have ridden Nokk this morning. You barely slept."

"I'm good", said Elsa with a wave of the hand. She however lied down next to Honeymaren, and looked like she was five seconds away from sleeping. "I didn't want to miss this trip with you. Exploration is important."

"And I missed you." Smiled Honeymaren, looking at her.

"What?" Mumbled Elsa.

"Nothing."

She noticed how the Fifth Spirit was getting more and more sleepy every passing second. "You know that I can see your eyelids getting heavy, right? You should sleep."

"But I want to stay awake to keep talking with you", muttered the blonde.

"We have all day tomorrow. And many days afterwards, given how long our trip will be."

"Okay, but I'm just gonna… Rest my eyes for now…" Said Elsa, her voice drowsy.

She blinked slowly and softly slumbered to sleep, her head tilting on the bag.

Honeymaren chuckled. "Sleep well, you ethereal dork."

* * *

Elsa squinted at the sudden light. She looked around, confused, even though she knew exactly where she was standing: the memory room of Ahtohallan.

It had come into her dreams again. But this time, Elsa could feel it, she was fully asleep. She shared a mental connection with the magical source; she had discovered about it during the past months, and it still surprised her just as much as it fascinated her. Only her mind was there - her spirit, she even thought, not missing another occasion to think of a pun - and it was an odd sensation.

Elsa looked around, trying to see what memory Ahtohallan had picked this time. And when she recognized it, her heart fell in her chest.

"Oh no. Really?" She muttered.

There was a wall, being a crucial part of the memory. And a door. Obviously closed. And there was a girl, curled on herself, holding her folded legs against her chest, her head buried in her knees.

Ironically, the ice that composed the memory brilliantly highlighted the giant snowflake pattern that was traced on the door and starting from the back of the girl.

With trembling lips, Elsa stepped to the person, and noticed how their shoulders were shaken by silent sobs. Elsa sighed.

"Why, Ahtohallan?" She asked, out loud.

She looked up and around with a frown.

"WHY?!" She asked, louder.

But her voice only echoed in the chamber and the limits of her dream, and she bit her lip as she looked down, clenching her fists.

The fists that were facing them, however, were closely concealed, almost invisible given how much the girl was hiding them in her curl. And not an inch of her skin was visible.

"To think that the gloves actually never were useful…" Murmured Elsa.

She surprised herself. She wouldn't have thought that her first words when facing this specific memory would be those.

She knew exactly when this scene had happened. For this was a memory of hers. And, noted the Fifth Spirit, it was a memory happening at the exact same time than the one of Anna's where she attended the funeral. Any minute now, her sister would knock to the door, begging her to open it once again, and slide in sorrow against the cold wood, in every meaning of the term.

The statue of young Elsa sobbed on the floor of the bedroom, and she gently kneeled, as if she was afraid of scaring her. Memories felt so real when it hit right home.

She hesitated at first, but slowly put her hand on her own, young, pained, shoulder. She knew it wouldn't help. She knew it wouldn't change anything. But she wanted to.

"This is going to be okay. Everything will get better. Your future will be alright." Said Elsa.

Her voice was strong, because determined, but also soft, and warm, and maternal.

"I promise you it will."

And then she melted into tears.

She sobbed for several minutes, in the cruelest of silences, only interrupted by the crystalline sound of her other self also sobbing.

Elsa wiped her tears, and put her second hand on the other shoulder. She would have wanted her younger self to lift her chin, to stare at her, but she knew that back at that time, nothing would make her look up.

The most natural need that came to Elsa's mind was to tackle the statue in a warm hug. So she did. She wrapped her arms around her and clenched them tight, her eyes close and mouth shut. She felt it in her core.

Maybe it just was her imagination, but it seemed to help. Both of them.

When Elsa opened her eyes, she wasn't in Ahtohallan anymore. She had opened her eyes in the forest, and she saw the leaves and the trees above her head. She sat up, rubbed her tears from her face, and noticed that the day was about to rise. A few hours had passed.

Next to her, Honeymaren was asleep on the ground, also using her bag as a pillow. Elsa looked around, took a deep breath and stood up.

She needed to take a walk. And to write a letter.

* * *

"Morning, Gale." Said Anna without lifting her eyes from the early paperwork.

The wind spirit twirled as a hello, forming itself with floating grass. Anna liked that she could tell how the weather was like in the Forest based on what the spirit had picked up from the ground and trees. Some of the blades of grass were covered with morning dew, and it brought a delightful perfume in the study.

Anna sniffed the air with a smile. "It smells nice. What brings you so early? You Spirits have such ease to wake up in the morning. It took me a full hour to get out of bed."

Kristoff had given up on waiting for her and left her a kiss on the forehead before going to work, ice harvesting on the top mountains.

Gale flew around the room before depositing a letter on the stack of paperwork next to Anna.

"A letter? From Elsa?" She asked, recognizing the elements symbol that Elsa usually made with ice on the back to seal it.

Anna put her quill back in the ink well, and smiled at how her sister and her had different ways to craft letters. She always folded hers into cute or funny shapes, whereas Elsa's always were neat and proper, even if she was living in the woods. It told a lot about their personalities.

After thanking Gale, and letting them go by the window, Anna opened the letter and frowned with amusement at Elsa's handwriting.

"She wrote while walking?" Wondered the Queen out loud.

With the passing year, Anna had become an expert in guessing in which condition her elder wrote her letters. Elsa had a very curved and tidy handwriting, so it was easy to know when she was writing the letters horizontally on her lap, or vertically by leaning against a tree. She could also tell if she was riding Nokk as she wrote because of how jerky the letters were, despite her efforts to focus and the ice plaque she would use as a support. And here, Anna could tell by the slight move of the letters, that Elsa had been walking and writing at the same time.

"I bet you were pacing around as you did…" Muttered Anna.

Shen then read the letter out loud. Both sisters often did so, because it felt like the other was standing right next to them.

_'Anna,_

_I got another vision from Ahtohallan last night._

_This time, it was one of my memories. Also from the day of the funeral, however from my point of view this time. Don't worry, I'm alright._

_We said that we would tell each other everything, so I do, but to be honest I still truly don't understand why I received this vision. And why both memories were from that day. It can't be a coincidence that two consecutive flashes of Ahtohallan are simultaneous moments._

_I'll probably meditate later in the day to further understand. Maybe I'll get another vision._

_Have a beautiful day_

_I love you_

_Elsa'_

Anna let out a sigh and let her spine fall on the back of her chair. Her fingers passed along the fresh paper as her mind thought a thousand thoughts. What was Ahtohallan playing at? If it even had a sense of humor? Was it humor? Was it tricking with Elsa? Her elder had told her that only mutual respect resided between them. So why?

The redhead tapped her fingers on her desk. All she wanted was for Elsa to be happy. As she delicately folded the letter and put it aside to store into her box later with all of Elsa's letters, she hoped that it wasn't getting too much on her mind.

* * *

Mattias chuckled softly, with respect, as Anna ended her long summary of the situation.

"Isn't it her duty? And quite literally her job? To study the memories?"

Anna groaned and massaged the top of her nose. "Yes. That's why she got gifted with ice magic at birth in the first place. But _still!_ I'd like her to not be able to see those statues sometimes. It's gonna drive her crazy. And she should fully enjoy her trip with Honeymaren, not interrupt herself to literally think about the past!"

"I'm certain that she can analyze them and find the reason why Ahtohallan picked those memories without losing her mind to it." Smiled Mattias reassuringly. "She gained that knowledge and mastering, you know it."

Anna pouted, turning to him as she was leaned on the stone railing of the harbor. "Why are you so right? And wise? Sometimes it's a pain."

"I do believe that it's why you made me your counselor, Your Majesty."

Anna's pout turned into a soft smile. "Yes."

Mattias winked, but still kept his stiffened posture, his hands in his back. He noticed that Anna groaned at bit as she massaged the back of her neck.

"You're still hurt?"

"I'm fine", assured Anna.

The general coughed lightly. "It's not too late to cancel today's meeting, you know."

The redhead waved at him to dismiss the idea. "Keep positive. It's gonna be alright."

She stepped closer. "How's my eye? Does it look bad?"

Mattias bent his head to inspect her in every angle, imagining the view of diplomats. "Hmmm… I think you're good."

"You hesitated." Snorted Anna.

He frowned. "No, I didn't. I was just–"

"I'm just kidding. It's a private joke."

"Oh."

He wondered what she meant by 'private joke'.

"HEY!" Yelled someone, and it was so loud and coming out of nowhere that Mattias and Anna frowned before turning around.

A man approached the part of the harbor they were walking in, and Anna instantly recognized him as one of the men she had knocked down at the pub.

"You! I haven't forgotten. You thought I'd be as drunk and amnesic as my friends, but I'm NOT! I know what you did and I WILL get my revenge."

Anna lifted an eyebrow, surprised by his courage but unimpressed anyway. He suddenly dashed forward, genuinely wanting to either punch or strangle her, and Arendelle guards instantly ran in between them, blocking his way with their shields.

It was a good thing that Anna always was surrounded by soldiers when she was out of the castle. Nevertheless, they didn't even need to take their swords out. The man stopped right in his tracks, grumbling.

"Hiding behind your personal guard, uh?"

"I don't need to hide from you or to be protected", puffed Anna, stepping forward. "You don't scare me."

The guards holding the man away turned around a bit at her sentence. Mattias signed to Anna with a warning hand near her arm.

"Your Majesty, it would be imprudent to let him go through." He advised in a whisper.

Anna kept her eyes on the brute, who was still frowning and fulminating. One of the guards felt offended for his Queen when he muttered a swear towards her, clearly readable on her lips. The soldier had to restrain himself to not take his sword out right then and slice his face, and Anna realized that defending the honor of others apparently was something common in Arendelle. She smiled at that, and balled her fist in pride. She still had some bruises on it, and was willing to make her knuckles bleed again if needed.

"I don't regret anything of what happened that night." Stated Anna, her voice strong and confident, clear for him to hear from where he was. The bystanders' gazes switched from her to the man.

The redhead stepped forward again, in a poised slow pace. "You disrespected your former Queen, and deserved to be corrected."

"I only said the truth." Spit the man. "And is that a way you listen to your people's opinions, _my Queen?_ " He blurted, accusing her.

Anna frowned and accelerated her pace. Mattias grabbed her arm to prevent her from going further. "Your Majesty, no."

"Is that the way you treat people who disagree with you? By PUNCHING them?" Jolted the man, despite being hold by the soldiers' shields.

He had raised his voice to take the villagers as witnesses. Some exchanged whispers, trying to understand what was going on. Anna's mouth twisted.

"Disagreeing? You openly accused her of decisions and acts she never committed. Elsa did _not_ abandon you, and you know that."

Mattias could feel the way Anna's muscles had just tensed under his hand.

"You _all_ know that!" Said Anna, rising her voice as well to talk to the villagers.

"Peh. This is all sweet talk. She deserted and abdicated anyway, like the coward she is!" He groaned.

That was the trigger for Anna. Never would she let anyone call Elsa a coward.

She was strong enough to get out of Mattias' hands, but he quickly ran to place himself in front of her, and faced his monarch.

"Anna. Don't."

The redhead blinked of surprise at the sudden use of her first name. Not that she didn't like it - after all, Mattias and her had met each other in less formal ways, and she didn't mind that he called her Anna - but he rarely did, and at his expression, she knew that it was because he got worried.

She looked at him, and they stared at each other for a moment, then she exhaled and sighed. "Alright", she whispered. He was wiser than her for impetuous behaviors.

His shoulders slumped in relief, and he indicated her accompany him back to the castle. She did, and they walked along the harbor.

"Can I at least punch him in the arm? Just the arm." She joked.

Mattias snorted. "No. Go on, we need to prepare the meeting anyway."

"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!" Yelled the man.

Anna turned around, gave a sign to the soldiers, and they nodded before pushing him away.

"Sir, I'll ask you to leave or we lock you in jail for direct aggression to the Queen." Said one of them.

"Direct aggression to the–", he repeated. "But she's not even the Queen! She got Queen by _default!_ "

"Sir, this is your last warning", frowned another guard.

The man spit on his uniform. The closest people in the crowd gasped.

"You're just a bootlicker. Go eat a d–"

"That's enough." Interrupted the soldier, and they all grabbed his arms to walk him to the jail.

As Anna entered the castle's walls, she gave a quick glance behind, and saw the Arendelle guards violently taking him away.

She sighed, and lowered her eyes.

* * *

"Are you certain that it's that way?" Asked Elsa.

Honeymaren put her hands on her hips, pretending to be offended. "What, you doubt of my sense of direction?"

Elsa smirked, feeling her sarcasm. "Well, you said you guided yourself with the stars. But you only saw an actual sky for less than a year, no?"

Her friend bumped her in the arm. "Don't be mean! And there _were_ stars during the fog. We just didn't see the day sky."

She twirled her staff, and used it as she walked forward. "Trust me. We're going in the right direction."

Elsa crossed her arms with a mocking expression. "Oh yeah? Then why are you heading East?"

Honeymaren frowned. "I'm not–" She interrupted herself, checking her compass. She did it discreetly, just in case she was wrong. She was. "Yeah, okay, I maybe shouldn't have turned left at the last path… Wait, how can you know we're heading East?"

Elsa smiled, pointing at the sky, or rather the air in general. "I can feel where the North is."

The Sami woman puffed. "What, at all times?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes. It's like… How can I describe it… Like I'm magnetized to it. I just can tell where it is. Permanently."

Honeymaren thought she was joking, and was about to laugh, then realized that Elsa was serious. "Oh. Really? So… You're a compass by yourself, then?"

Elsa wanted to deny, but stopped in her move with her mouth open when she noticed that she actually was right. "I… Yeah, I suppose. I never thought of it that way. I only used that ability to locate where Ahtohallan is."

The brunette discarded her compass in her pocket. "Alright. Where are we heading, compass spirit?"

"Don't call me that."

"Direction spirit?"

"Stop."

"Map spirit."

"Honey!"

The woman stopped talking, and they both froze. A blank floated in the air.

"-maren." Forced to finished Elsa, blushing furiously.

Honeymaren blushed herself, and it took her a while to put words in her brain correctly to reply.

"What did you-"

"I just gave you a short name. It's just a shorter version of your name. It's no big deal. I just said the beginning of your name. I still called you by your name."

That sounded way more defensive and fast than Elsa's usual tone, and Honeymaren stared at her in confusion.

"…Okay."

"We do it all the time. In Arendelle. Of course, you surely do it as well here. Among the Northuldra." Blabbered Elsa, blushing more and more, and waving her hands around, much to Honeymaren's amusement. "It's a very common thing. It's like when Anna calls Kristoff 'Kris'. Wait, _not_ like when _Anna_ calls _Kristoff_ …"

She sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"Forget everything that I said." She mumbled, her voice masked by her hands.

Elsa was so ashamed that she wanted the ground to swallow her, or to run away and hide in an ice cave.

"It's okay." Smiled Honeymaren. "It's _just a short name._ " She added, imitating Elsa's voice.

The blonde groaned in her hands, and slid them to look at her above her fingers.

"I'm sorry."

"You did nothing wrong." Giggled Honeymaren.

"I'm just really tired…" Mumbled Elsa.

Honeymaren put a hand on her shoulder. "We can remain silent for the following hour of walk."

"Good idea."

"So, where's West?"

Elsa pointed at the plains with her finger.

"Okay. Come on, let's go!"

The blonde followed her, not saying a word. As Honeymaren walked in front of her and couldn't see her, she checked above her head to see if there were snowflakes floating in the air. She gasped in relief when she saw none.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so much fun to write interactions like those. Mattias and Anna being good friends and knowing each other well, just like Honeymaren and Elsa developing their relationship further with tiny baby steps.
> 
> I got a lot of feedback on Tumblr saying that I make people laugh and tear up and all of it without being out of character, thank you A LOT! :D
> 
> I'm so happy that you like this fanfic. Believe it or not, those are the best compliments for a writer.


	5. Do the next right thing

**Chapter 5: Do the next right thing**

It was a sunny day in Arendelle, and Anna was delighted to enjoy it after her morning duties. She especially liked those casual walks outside along Mattias. However, he made her shake her head with another moment of modesty, which was becoming common. She often had to remind him of his importance. Now he was doubting about his status of General.

"But… Such a title…"

Anna bent the head to her counsellor.

"You know, I didn't make you General just because you saved my life when I destroyed the dam."

Mattias lifted an eyebrow, both amused and curious.

"Even if…" Added Anna, waving her hand, "That was great, and all… No, that's also because you deserve the highest rank."

The man bowed his head at the compliment.

"I prefer to call myself your counsellor for the rest of my days and to never have to use my military title, Your Majesty. Because the term 'General' could imply a possible context of conflict."

Anna smiled, the light of the bright sun accentuating her freckles as they both stepped on the cobblestones.

"Nice to see we're on the same page about pacifism." Beamed the Queen.

As they continued to walk, her smile vanished when she noticed how many guards were tagging along. She had two soldiers walking in front of her, and two behind. It felt a bit oppressive, even for her who didn't mind it when people stood this close.

Especially for what she had planned to do in the following minutes.

She cleared her throat, trying to assemble as much regal attitude as she could. Elsa used to be better at this than her, and she blamed her natural aura. Nevertheless, on her side, Anna had this sturdy character that often allowed her to get what she wanted from the staff, the politicians, and… The Arendelle guards.

"I would like to continue on my own, please."

The soldiers stopped right in their tracks. The four of them looked at her with concern. One of the two guards standing in front of Anna was a woman, and when she turned around, she frowned.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, yes, of course. I just…" Anna took a strong breath in. "I'd like to enter the jail alone."

The guards now understood why she had been walking to Arendelle's prison. She meant to enter. Mattias had a little theory about why, but preferred not to intervene. The soldiers, however, exchanged some glances.

"Are you certain?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay." Assured Anna.

They seemed convinced, and bowed to their monarch, before leaving the two. The redhead noticed that Mattias followed her, and lifted a soft hand. "Can you wait for me here? It won't be long."

Her counsellor looked at her maliciously. "What are you planning to do? Do you have a visit to make? The man from the other day, perhaps?"

"I won't punch him, I promise." Smiled Anna.

He stared at her, then took a calm breath. "Alright. Then go."

Anna entered the building, and explained to each pair of guards she met on the way that she had to be alone. She only asked to be given directions on where the prisoner was, and said she would give a sign to the nearest guard in case she needed them. It left a lot of confusion to everyone, but nobody was dumb enough to contradict Queen Anna of Arendelle.

Calmly, she walked to the designated cell, and looked through the bars. The keeper opened the cell for her, then left. When there only was silence floating in the air, along the smell of humidity and the background sound of water drops, the man looked at her.

"We need to talk." Announced Anna.

He was about to say something.

"I'm not here to scold you." Promised the redhead. "I just don't like it when I leave people in bad terms, and I felt like I needed to talk to you."

"You look miserable." Blurted the man, defensively. He figured out that the best way to cope with the surprise to see her visit him and the fact to face her this close again would be with an insult. Anna indeed had dark circles under her eyes.

"Because I stood awake all night thinking about it. I couldn't sleep." Smiled Anna.

Despite his attack, Anna was not offended in any way. She knew he acted meanly to feel better. And she was wise enough to know that it was never the solution.

"I hope I'm not intruding." She said politely as she took the stool of the cell to sit on, while the man stayed on the hanging bed.

He was so surprised by her presence that he didn't reply, but she didn't mind. There was a silence.

"You came alone." Noted the man.

His voice was calm, stunned. He couldn't believe that she was taking that risk. He probably could end her life right there and then, but she seemed unafraid of it.

"Yes, indeed." Smiled Anna.

Now he stared at her with a dropped jaw turned into a wince. She was genuinely smiling? It wasn't just polite, she seemed happy to be there. And it was obvious she had prepared her speech. Anna took a breathe in as she started.

"I know why you're scared. Because you don't put trust in me. To be fair, I don't always put trust in me either."

Her tone surprised the man.

"It's going to sound odd, but… I was technically chosen by the Spirits. They all agreed that Arendelle deserves to stand with _me_. It's as honorary as scary for a decision, and you have the right to still be processing it. It took me a while as well."

The man wondered if she was serious. Judging by her expressions, she was. Was the Queen confessing to him? Privately? In a jail cell?

"Why did you come to see me? Why are you talking to me?" He asked, and voluntarily added a grunting tone mid-sentence when he thought he could intimidate her more that way.

Once again, it had no effect on Anna, and she even smiled more at his reaction.

"I want you to know that, despite the fact I now took Elsa's role, she didn't leave. Her heart is here. She's always here. Even when she's not visiting."

She almost sounded maternal by the way she reassured him, and his eyes suddenly stung.

Why did his eyes sting? Was it the truth of her words? The relief he felt in his guts? Why did those simple statements make his soul lift a bit?

Anna looked at him and kept going.

"You know, if Elsa hadn't come in time to stop the tidal wave that day, all our homes would have been crushed away. Yours, just like mine. We all owe her something. And look at the ice coating and decorations on the castle. Wouldn't she have melted them if she didn't care about Arendelle anymore?"

The man looked by the window of his cell, as if he could see the roofs from there, but it was more of a thinking gesture than anything else. Anna saw how his eyes had turned a bit sparkly with the light passing by the opening.

"Trust me when I say. She cares. She always does. I'm the one who has to tell her to not worry about the kingdom sometimes."

He was speechless, his breathing slower and attentive now. The redhead bent forward.

"And if she knew you, she would ask how you're doing from time to time."

He stared at her. There was a long silence, and Anna respected it, understanding that she had to put her chatty personality aside. The man struggled a bit at first, but finally opened his mouth.

"I'm…"

He retracted, regretting it. She encouraged him with a smile.

"I'm sorry." He exhaled, and he bit his lip after he let that truth out.

Anna fidgeted with her dress on the stool. "It's okay."

"I've been a brute, I know it. And… Please pardon my behavior. I was drunk, and I can get very aggressive verbally…"

"Were you drunk when we saw each other on the harbor?" Asked Anna.

He couldn't tell if she was concerned or reproaching.

"I, uh…"

The prisoner looked embarrassed, so she dismissed the question with a gentle move of the hand.

"It doesn't matter."

He sat up more straight on the bed. "This is all my fault, however. And I want to apologize."

"I accept it", smiled Anna. Her genuine smile was back, and he felt like he was facing an actual sun.

"I thought I was right about what I said about Lady Elsa. And you. But I was wrong. I'll try to be objective from now on." Promised the man.

"As long as you're not being judgmental, I guess it's fine." Winked Anna.

There was a silence, and she figured that they had told each other everything. She was about to leave the cell, so he stood up by respect, then he cleared his throat softly.

"Though I have to say, objectively, there _is_ one difference that is both good and bad between you two."

Anna turned around with a smile, frowning her eyebrows with amusement. "Which one?"

"You're better at delegating than her."

The redhead stared at him as he smiled, and there was a silence as she thought about all that it meant, then she giggled.

"Yes, it's true. She really outdid everything and insisted on doing all by herself, uh?"

It was a fact known by everyone in Arendelle, not just the staff of the castle. He nodded, and she turned to exit. She closed the iron door, and gave a sign to the guard at the end of the corridor to come lock it.

"You know… Everyday, I'm trying my best." Declared Anna as a last sentence, still smiling to the man. "We all do. That's how life is. All one has to do, is to do the next right thing."

The Arendelle soldier came next to her, bowed to his Queen and locked the prisoner in again. She gave the two a nod, and walked along the corridor.

"…Do the next right thing…" Murmured the man. "…Interesting." He added, smiling.

* * *

Elsa was focused in her drawings as she traced the new lines of the map along Honeymaren.

"Hey, can you, uh…"

The Sami gave her the pencil sharpener before she even asked. Elsa lifted her head when she saw that she had put the right object in her outstretched hand.

"…Thank you?"

"You're welcome." Smiled Honeymaren.

She had something in her smile that Elsa couldn't quite put the finger on, and she decided to stop staring at it before getting too distracted. They had started to draw the map three hours ago, and she still got the feeling that they hadn't traced much of it.

Elsa checked her notes and Honeymaren's that they had wrote in their travel journals during their exploration, and helped herself with her own doodles that she had made when they stared at the horizon.

The Fifth Spirit applied the map indications from her notes to the giant paper displayed on the table in the center of the tent, scribbling on the map with the same rhythm and focused silence than Honeymaren standing in front of her on the other side of the table. When Elsa turned the next page of her journal, she was surprised to see a sketch that looked nothing like a border trace or a landscape, and squinted to it as she tried to remember what it was. She took the journal and lifted it at the rays of light passing by the roof to see it clearer, and suddenly widened her eyes when she recognized it.

"What is it?" Frowned Honeymaren.

"Nothing." Urged to say the blonde, blushing, and she flipped the pages to hide it.

"Come on, what is it?" Asked the Northuldra, amused. "Did you write too fast and you can't read your own handwriting?"

Elsa was glad she had just made up a perfect excuse. "Yes. Exactly."

"It happens to me all the time." Giggled Honeymaren.

She then lifted her head, interrupting herself in her drawing of the map, and interrupting Elsa too, for the latter was unable to focus every time the brunette talked. "It's strange. You have such a clean handwriting, and you're used to write in pretty much every position, how come you can't understand what you wrote?"

"I don't know", fainted to shrug Elsa. "Here I just can't understand what I wrote. That's all."

Her field of view got obstructed by Honeymaren's palm, and she missed a heartbeat.

"Let me see. Maybe I can decipher it."

Elsa blushed. "No, it's not important. Truly. Never mind."

Honeymaren frowned. "Don't tell me that we went hiking for days for nothing. Your notes are important. You often have an interesting point of view. You have a sharp eye, and sometimes see things I do not see."

 _'See things you do not see…'_ Thought Elsa, gulping, as she stared at Honeymaren.

"Elsa?"

"Uh?"

"Why are you gripping your journal like that?"

The Fifth Spirit only noticed then what she was doing. She had clenched her hand on the pages, to make sure that the brunette wouldn't take it. And it was a good thing that she was in full control of her magic now, because otherwise, with such a grasp, the whole diary would be covered with ice.

"I'm not going to snatch it out of your hands, don't worry. If you don't want me to read it, it's okay."

Elsa stared at her in silence, her throat tight. "Let's… Let's just draw the map."

Honeymaren smiled softly. "Got it."

They resumed to their work, and a few minutes later, Elsa took the opportunity of a moment when the Northuldra was focusing on coloring the shadow of a mountain, to look again at her journal. She flipped the pages back to the sketch, and clenched her other fist as she saw the drawing again.

A few days before, when Honeymaren was taking a nap as they were exploring the West plains, she had absentmindedly doodled the patterns of her coat in her journal. What she didn't remember, however, is that she had actually drawn her _entirely_.

Elsa nervously passed a hand in her hair, and added a layer of ice on her locks without noticing it.

She went back to the map, but wasn't really able to focus on it after that. When, one hour later, Honeymaren called it a day and said they could continue another time, she actually felt relieved. And when the woman leaved the tent, Elsa following behind, the blonde couldn't help but think that she actually got the back patterns of her outfit accurately.

* * *

"Oh! Oh! And could you bring one of those snow me's?"

"Snowgies", corrected Elsa with a chuckle. "And maybe. One day, I could show them to you."

"Yaaay!" Jolted the Sami kids in one voice, jumping around. One of them even jumped really high, and Elsa got worried for a second, until she understood that Gale actually was playing with them.

Like any children, they switched their attention easily, and were all focused on Gale now, asking them to make them fly next. They were all so small and light that they could make them float all at the same time, and they all took off the ground with a concert of giggles. It was no big effort from Gale to do so, and Elsa remembered that the spirit was able to create tornadoes in an instant, so this was not more complex that her creating an ice sculpture. Or to sneeze snowgies.

She joined the kids in the general giggle, then suddenly Gale stopped. The Sami children retrieved the ground, and Elsa frowned as she saw the Spirit briskly leaving the forest to the South.

"What happened?" Worried a child.

"I don't know. But it's not your fault", she said with a soft voice, seeing how disappointed they all were.

She had felt the emotion of the Spirit before they left; it was curiosity, like they had just heard something in the distance and wanted to investigate. Elsa was naturally curious as well - must be a Spirit thing - and she followed the path that Gale had taken.

Suddenly, she saw them come back at high speed, and she barely had the time to widen her eyes, before they swooped her up in the air.

"WOAW!" Exclaimed the blonde, blinking at the sudden force.

She analysed the way the Wind Spirit was making her twirl in the air, and she knew that familiar embrace. They were excited for Elsa. And that meant only one thing…

"Anna is here?"

Gale put her back on the ground and chimed with a happy twirl, confirming it. Elsa smiled and beamed in glee. She ran in the forest to the elemental stones, and giggled with a joyful tone as she and Gale hurried along her. They moved fast in the woods, trees whistling in Elsa's ears when she passed in front of them. She arrived to the stones, and run past them.

In the distance, she could see a reindeer with three passengers arriving at full speed, and Elsa was glad as always that Gale could bring her news from so far. Every time, she knew when Anna would come before she even arrived to the stones.

With a gasping laugh, Elsa ran to them, and she could see Anna jumping down and running along.

"That's just useless", told her Kristoff as she did. "We're faster with Sven!"

"I doubt that she cares", chuckled Olaf.

Indeed, the redhead didn't care. That was Elsa's and hers tradition: to tackle each other into a hug. Even if Sven arrived first. Screw logic.

Seconds later, they arrived to each other's level, and Elsa slowed down a bit before Anna jumped into her arms. They twirled around with bursts of laughter, delighted to hug each other again.

"Surpriiiise!" Giggled Anna.

Elsa held her close, her hand passing on Anna's long hair. "You said you were busy in your last letter. You little stinker."

"That's the whole point of a surprise." Laughed Anna.

"I know. This is a great idea." Smiled Elsa, parting from the hug to look at her little sister.

She brought her hands to Anna's cheeks, her gaze dancing from one eye to another.

"No new black eye. I suppose that things are doing better?"

Anna nudged her on the arm as the blonde cackled with laughter. "You dork."

After Elsa hugged Kristoff and Olaf, they walked together to the camp, despite Kristoff's suggestions to go on Sven because he was riding right next to them and it was ridiculous. Finally, they arrived to the Northuldra, who greeted their surprise visit with hurrahs.

"I'm so happy that you're here." Said Elsa with the same touched smile as always.

"And I didn't come empty-handed!" Smiled Anna, beaming.

She rushed to get her backpack attached to Sven's back, and took a paper bag out. Elsa instantly recognized the crest on it, and her soul filled with joy, both at the memory and what was coming.

"Chocolates! From-"

"Your favorite shop in Arendelle, yep."

Elsa hurried to take the bag. She couldn't believe her eyes. And her taste buds. She was almost drooling in advance.

"This is not just any chocolates, though. I bought some that we can melt in a pot so we can have some hot chocolate tonight around the camp fire." Winked Anna.

The blonde gasped in glee. "You're the best sister."

"I'm your only sister." Giggled Anna.

"That still makes you the best."

Anna hugged Elsa briefly, both laughing.

Ryder stepped to Kristoff. "And I have good news for you. We made carrot cake!"

Kristoff's eyes lit up like a child who was offered a giant gift. "Really?"

"I knew you were going to like it." Winked the Northuldra. "Come on, you should hurry before Sven eats it all."

After Anna took the paper bag, the reindeer had rushed to the other animals, and could smell the tasty smell of carrot cake any second.

The sun started to set as time passed. While the sisters caught up on their separated life news, Olaf had joined the kids, delighted to see how fast some of them had grown up. Getting more and more mature himself, he naturally found topics of discussion with them. Elsa however lifted a worried eyebrow when he started to talk about death, but Anna indicated her that it was no big deal. The blonde blinked when Anna continued her story.

"Wait, you went to jail? What happened?!"

Anna snorted. "No, I didn't. I mean, I did, but…"

Her sister stared at her. "You're not making any sense right now, and I'm concerned."

"Elsa, I didn't get _arrested_. Do you hear yourself?" Laughed Anna.

The blonde sighed. "Sorry. I'm just very tired this week, and I become easily tensed."

Anna paused in her gestures as she was gathering wood for the camp fire, and looked down. "I am as well. I have troubles finding sleep at night."

" _You?_ Have troubles sleeping?" Smiled Elsa, humor stepping above worry.

"Kristoff says that it doesn't prevent me from snoring loudly when I finally drift off."

They giggled, and Elsa helped her out with the wood. "What is getting on your mind? Queen duties?"

"Yes and no. That's why I wanted to visit that guy in the jail. I felt like I had to, you know?"

The Fifth Spirit nodded. "How did it go?"

Anna smiled, and told her the whole thing. She made sure to include every detail, and Elsa listened to her carefully. When she was done, the elder stared at her with amazement.

"You really have the power to change people, you know that?"

"Is this my type of magic?" Joked Anna.

"No, I'm serious. You really see what's best in people, and always manage to switch their point of view for the better."

The redhead looked at Elsa, taking in the compliment.

"I'm the first example." Noted the blonde. "And also Kristoff. And so many other persons."

A smile appeared at the corner of Anna's lips, and she looked down at the stack of wood.

"Truly." Added Elsa, seeing how she doubted a bit. "Arendelle is lucky to have you as a leader. You enhance life in so many ways."

The Queen's teal blue eyes glistened with touched tears. "Thank you."

As she turned to Elsa, something behind her caught her attention, and she barely had the time to squeak of surprise before Bruni appeared out of nowhere and jumped on her. Thanks to her reflexes, she received him right in time in her open palms.

"Hey you! It's been a while."

The salamander chirped, curling in her hands.

"He missed you too." Said Elsa, smiling.

Anna started to pet him, passing her fingers on his back, and he licked his eyes. He looked at both sisters, with an interrogative gaze.

"We're about to make some hot chocolate. But I doubt that you'll like it." Informed Elsa. "No, you prefer some ice snacks, don't you, little guy?"

At the word 'ice snacks', it acted like a trigger, and the salamander turned to Elsa with excited steps and an open mouth. Anna chuckled as Elsa shook her head and lifted her left hand to pepper some snowflakes on him, and he ate each one of them.

"Can we ask for a service in return?" Said Anna. "Could you light a fire?"

The salamander finished crunching on the snowflakes and jumped out of her hands with his paws out, then bounced on the ground. He spat a joyful amount of fire in the wood logs, and the camp fire was made.

He then heard Olaf burst of laughter in the distance, and chirped before running to him, excited to see he had come too.

* * *

The sisters had sat on the ground, enjoying the mat of grass in the evening. Anna assembled the utensils she took from the camp, and put the pot on the fire, taking care of the chocolate bits and putting them in. In a soft and comfy silence, Anna turned the spoon in the pot, and Elsa watched her do so, lulled by her moves.

They were isolated from the rest of the camp, and she enjoyed that little bubble of calm with her younger. The delicious smell of the chocolate getting heated was making them both hum around the fire. With the dancing purple-pink light of the flames, Anna's red hair looked like soft lava in the night. Elsa turned to her, and looked at her for a moment, before taking a deep emotional breath.

"Anna… I realized that you didn't tell me anything about Honeymaren."

The redhead turned to her, detaching her eyes from the melting chocolate to frown in confusion.

"What? We talked for hours about it after coffee when you came."

"No, what I mean is that you didn't say anything about… Me… Feeling… Attracted to a woman."

"Oh. _Oh_. Oh, Elsa…"

Each one of those 'oh's had a different sound. The first one was reactive, the second one understanding, and the last one sweet in affection.

Anna put the lid back on the pot to take her elder's hand in hers.

"Elsa, you're my sister and you mean the world to me. Of course I won't judge you. It just came naturally to me."

"That I liked girls?"

Anna had to restrain herself not to giggle.

" _No_ , that you needed support. And a confidant. And some advice. You can tell me _anything_. And I'll always listen."

There was a silence, as Elsa smiled deeply.

"It's true, you're always such a good listener and you're so nice…"

"It's not just kindness." Insisted Anna. "I genuinely support you. You don't have to feel any excluded because of who you love, Elsa. Your choices make you _you_. And I wouldn't want you any different. It's my role to accept y–"

Elsa suddenly had jumped from her spot and tackled Anna in a warm embrace. The redhead was surprised by the gesture, almost fell back, and stopped talking. Usually, when Elsa wanted to hug, she only came forward with open arms. It always was Anna who would then launch herself in the hugs, even if Elsa often initiated them. The Queen closed her eyes and passed a hand along Elsa's back.

"We made a promise. To never shut each other's out." Murmured Anna on her shoulder.

Elsa sighed with a teary smile. "Yes, we did. I'll try all I can to respect that promise."

"It's alright if there are days where you can't." Assured Anna.

Elsa parted from the hug to look at her little sister with sad eyes. "I'm trying my best, I swear. It's just… Bad habits are hard to break."

Anna understood that she was referring to the 13 years of isolation. Elsa still had issues about including her sister in for some situations. "Of course."

She remembered how Elsa had hidden the fact she heard a voice calling her, or sent her away with Olaf when she had decided to go cross the Dark Sea alone.

The Fifth Spirit started to fidget with the paper wrapping that was around the chocolate. The redhead gave her a side look. She knew what that meant.

"Over-thinking again, uh?"

"I can't help it." Muttered Elsa, looking down.

"I know." Said Anna, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But you really need to chill about Honeymaren. Hey, look, I made a pun! Anyway…"

Elsa snorted at her joke, and let out a giggle.

"Your mood change really fast." Laughed Anna.

"Not as fast as Gale's", noted the blonde, and in her sentence, one could perceive how many times she had to cope with the Spirit's swings. Each spirit was stubborn as hell, but Gale changed their feeling as fast and often as a weather vane turned in a day. Ironically.

The Queen laughed. "I think that a cup a hot chocolate will do great for both of us nervous minds."

She then remembered that she had left the lid on. "Oh my goodness!"

Anna rushed to take it off and resume to her stirring. She hissed and shook her hand as she burned herself a bit in the process.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You should have waited for me to soothe the fire."

"I'm fine. It's just a burn." Assured Anna, still looking at the pot, waving her hand at her to dismiss her worry.

The elder caught her hand while she moved it in front of her face, and delicately infused some cold on her skin.

"Ahhh, that's actually neat… Thanks."

While Elsa checked her burned fingers, some steps approached, and Kristoff joined them around the camp fire.

"Mind me joining in?" Smiled the man.

"Of course not." Chimed Elsa. "Let's make it a family time."

"I'm not sure we'll have enough hot chocolate if we split it in three", remarked Anna as she was still focused on stirring the spoon in the pot.

"I'll just drink in your mug then." Joked Kristoff as he sat next to Elsa.

The redhead gave him a look. "Dare to do that and I cancel our marriage."

Kristoff and Elsa laughed loudly.

"I'm serious. Nothing gets in my way when there's chocolate at stake."

"We know."

She eventually was able to split it in three big servings, more than enough - Elsa crafted herself an ice mug because Anna only had picked two at the Northuldra village, and the younger was impressed to see once again how resistant her ice was - and they all sat down together.

Under the stars, they talked and laughed for a long time, filling the woods with their vibrant voices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet and soft but also serious and reflexive… A balanced chapter! :D We just reached the exact middle of the fanfic. 
> 
> I like to bring just as much drama than surprise than joy in my work. Emergence is a really good sample of my style haha
> 
> Btw, if you like my writing, you can check out Untangling the Frozen Knots, my 140K words fanfic novel, which you can order in printed book version! The link is in my bio. ;)


	6. Strike for love and strike for fear

**Chapter 6: Strike for love and strike for fear**

"Moooorning!" Chimed Anna, shaking her elder awake.

Elsa grumbled, struggling to open her eyes. Why did her sister always have to shake her body when she wanted to wake her up?

Anna saw how tired Elsa was, and wondered if she had slept properly.

"Hey, you haven't told me… Did you get new nightmares?"

"Hmm-what?" Muttered Elsa as she turned, her voice croaky.

Anna chuckled. Her elder often said that Anna was a disaster waking up, but at the way Elsa was rubbing her eyes now, it was clear that she had some tough mornings as well. She was adorable doing so, however. And Anna forgot her question for a moment, shaking her sister again with a touched smile.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Groaned Elsa. "What did you say?"

"I was asking you if you still had nightmares. I mean, those visions you don't like with the statues of the past."

The evocation of it made Elsa awake faster. She blinked and frowned, sitting up.

"I don't _dislike_ them. It's just that Ahtohallan submit them to me. So I'm not always in the mood."

Anna bent her head in an insisting way. "What I want to know, is if you had other visions of sad moments. It disturbs your sleep, as you told me. I'm just making sure that you get proper sleep."

At the way Elsa had yawned during her sentence, so much that she could have unhinged her jaw, Anna had her answer.

"You had more, didn't you?"

"No!" Hurried to say Elsa, her voice clear now. Her eyes seemed to focus as well, despite being wet after yawning. "No, I don't have any new ones. I would have told you. It's just… I've been thinking a lot at night, lately. Just like you."

The redhead saw how she diverted the subject on her to avoid talking about it. She shouldn't have told her about her sleep schedule the day before around the camp fire.

"Nope, we're not talking about me right now. I'm worried for you. How much did you sleep last night?"

"You were just there. You know." Smiled Elsa, waving her hand at the tent they had just slept in.

"I meant, the night before."

The blonde winced a bit. "Not much."

Anna lost her soft face and switched to a sad one. "Elsa…"

"Oh, come on, don't give me that look. Not that early in the morning." Whined the elder.

She stood up, and went to the entrance of the tent. "I'm going to bring you tea. Yelena makes the best brews. I suppose that you want some bread as well?"

Anna wasn't thinking about food, she needed to ask more questions about Elsa's health. However, her stomach gurgled, and the Fifth Spirit chuckled at the sound.

"Let's take several slices of bread."

On that, she opened the tent, and the bright light of the forest came in. Anna hissed at it, and raised a hand to protect her face from the intrusion.

"Can't we just stay in bed? Please? I took a day off, it's not to wake up at the same time I usually do."

"Sorry, but here, once you're awake, you're awake."

"Say the one who just yawned to death."

"Well, now I'm standing and ready to start the day. And you're still seated on the bed."

Anna stuck her tongue out.

"You're not even dressed", pointed the younger.

Elsa raised an unimpressed and quite sarcastic eyebrow, and waved her hands. In one go, her night gown vanished and a whole new dress appeared on her in a dance of snowflakes. Anna groaned and let herself fall back on the bed.

"This is so unfair."

The blonde laughed with a clear voice, and her smiling face was highlighted by her white outfit and the warm rays of the morning sun.

"We can make a breakfast in bed, if you want."

Anna rose a hand and pointed a thumb up as an appreciation.

* * *

"Does she always have this energy on mornings?" Asked Ryder, concerned as he saw Anna train with the Northuldra on a staff fight session.

Kristoff smiled with deep love. "Always. She takes a lot of time to wake up, but once she's up, she's a true powerhouse, and never stops until the sun is down."

Ryder noticed how he had just said that with a mellow voice, and followed by an admirative sigh. He cringed in disgust.

"I'll never understand it."

"What?" Asked Kristoff, distracted by the moves of Anna, not detaching his eyes from her.

"Nothing."

Elsa joined them, still enjoying her mug of tea.

"You're not training this morning?" Inquired Ryder.

She shook her head to say no as she drank. Her brother-in-law turned to her.

"Wait, you train to fight every morning?"

"If I slept in the camp, yeah. Why?"

He chuckled. "I don't know. I just… Hardly imagine you fighting with a staff."

"I don't", snorted Elsa. "I use magic."

"Yep, and she wins every time." Sighed Ryder, who had stopped counting his bruises - but still asked to train against her whenever he could -.

"Isn't that cheating? Using magic against wooden weapons?" Pointed out the blond.

"Are you calling me a cheater?"

Kristoff crossed his arms. "I'm only stating the obvious."

" _Excuse me…_ Who's the one who made sound effects on last charades night?"

He rose a finger. "First of all, you still have no proof of that. Second of all, that's in the rules."

"It's NOT in the rules. You and Olaf _really_ need to check them for next time, you're the worst at it."

Ryder was in the middle of their interactions, and felt like they were about to punch each other, but they suddenly burst in laughter. He stared at them in confusion.

Anna approached, twirling her staff around with ease. "Hearing you two laugh that hard is stimulating on mornings."

She took the cloth Elsa gave her and wiped her face with it. With an excited smile, she extended her arm and bumped Ryder on the head with her stick. "You're taking the next round?"

Challenge passed in his eyes. "I'm coming!"

As he followed her back to the training area, he turned to Elsa and Kristoff. "Do you think I have a chance?" He whispered, a bit worried, for he had never fought against Anna.

"Uh-uh", assured Elsa as she shook no with her head.

"Not in a million years", said Kristoff with a puff.

The Northuldra gulped. "…Really?"

Elsa waved at him with a mocking smirk. "Good luck."

He joined Anna, who was jumping on her feet in impatience.

"I'm gonna prepare him an ice pack." Murmured Elsa.

"Yeah, good idea." Whispered Kristoff.

* * *

Anna was walking in the reindeer paddock with Elsa by her side, and loved those moments when they took care of the animals. As she scratched the muzzle of one of them, she turned to her sister.

"Say, have you seen new memories of Mama and Papa?"

Elsa looked up at the sky as she thought. "Not since the ones I saw in Ahtohallan on my first time, and I already told you about them a lot."

"And no new ones, given to you in your meditation and stuff?"

"No, sorry."

Anna chuckled. "Don't apologize. It's not due to you."

"I know, it's just… I wish I could give you more. More memories, more details. You deserve to know more as much as I do."

"The past will be revealed little by little, I suppose."

Elsa nodded, and they kept walking in the field. Suddenly, a thought struck Anna's mind.

"Wait a minute."

"What?" Worried the blonde.

"The memories you get through your mind… In visions… I mean, any memory you get when you're not actually in the memories room. They're all from our past, right?"

"Yeah, that's the concept of a memory", replied Elsa, who wondered for a second if her sister had become stupid.

"But those submitted memories are from _our_ past, every time, aren't they?"

She pointed at the two of them. And Elsa widened her eyes when she understood what she meant. The realization struck her mind as well.

"Oh my goodness…"

"YES."

"Are you saying…"

"I don't know what I'm saying. I just connected the dots. It's up to you to tell me now why the source only send you memories from the two of us."

"I don't _know_!" Exclaimed Elsa, in a tone that was half alarmed and half offended.

Anna stared at her. "Do you think… Oh damn, I hope it doesn't mean that I'm gonna die soon."

_"Anna!"_

"I'm just joking."

"You know I don't like it when you joke about that."

"Sorry. It's just… It's usually meaningful, no? Like, Ahtohallan showed you a memory of Mother when she was young first and foremost."

"Yes, it can't just be chance, I agree with you. There's something to decipher, I can feel it."

Anna nodded. As she walked, a reindeer bumped its head to her arm, asking for scratches too. She smiled and gave them with love. Her face got serious however as she turned back to Elsa.

"Tell me in a letter the next time you see a new one, okay? Immediately."

"I promise."

* * *

She however didn't have to wait long. And a letter wasn't necessary. For her next vision happened within the day, and even before the night would fall.

"Isn't that a bit high?" Smirked Anna, looking up.

"It's fine. Honeymaren and Ryder taught me how to climb trees."

"Oh, I know, I remember the time you showed me this summer. I don't doubt your talent, I just want to make sure that you don't hurt yourself."

"I can see the whole land from here." Smiled Elsa, fifteen meters above. "I'm actually thinking of building a tree house here, because it's a strategic point."

"Uh-uh." Said Anna, shaking her head.

With her hands on her hips, she looked around her, imagining the view she had from the branch she was sitting on. She would have liked to join her sister, but her courage couldn't cancel her clumsiness: there was a high chance for her to fall and break her arm or something. Which, given her Queen duties, was really something to avoid.

Elsa looked to the horizon with a smiling content face, looking at the river. The sun was reflecting on the waters, with a bright white glow. She didn't think of squinting her eyes as her gaze fell on it, and the sudden light drilled in her pupils. As she slightly moaned in pain, she thought it was weird, because she got used to the brightness of the sun. But the reflection light got more intense, and suddenly turned into a flash.

Elsa screamed at how strong the flash was, and got the heaviest vision of Ahtohallan she ever had since she gained her new power: in one second, she saw a third person point of view of Anna and herself in ice statues, representing them talking to each other. The Spirit clenched her eyes shut, squinting at the brisk dose of white. She tried to focus, but she felt like her mind was turning to cotton. With all the effort she could assemble, she tried to understand when the memory was taking place. Elsa understood when she saw the dress Anna was wearing, and her coronation cape weighing on her own shoulders.

The statues slowly sneaked awkward peaks at each other, and it then felt like a static electricity shock happened between them. Like two words collided. Like an explosion occurred at a touching point.

"…Hi."

"Hi me…? Oh. Um. Hi."

"…You—"

And the flash ended just as quick as it appeared. The forest landscape spring up again to Elsa's vision, but she barely saw it.

She felt all strength leaving her body, slowly drifting into unconsciousness. She knew that she was drifting out of the branch because she was losing her balance. Elsa was tilting to the ground…

By simple curiosity, Anna lifted her head to her sister, wondering when she would be done. Her face turned pale in a second when she saw that Elsa's eyes were rolling to the back of her head, her body limp, and that she was falling backwards off the branch.

"ELSA!" Yelled Anna with all the force in her lungs.

She rushed as fast as she could under the tree, just in time to catch the lifeless body of her elder.

With a 'oof!', she fell to the grass, rolling along with her due to the sudden impact. Hopefully, they both made it without a scratch, and Anna's breath got stuck in her chest from the shocking situation.

"ELSA! _ELSA!_ " She panicked, urging to shake the blonde's shoulders.

They were at the borders of the village, and some Northuldra had ran to them when they heard her screams.

Slowly, Elsa opened her eyes and came back to reality. She blinked, and took notion of how much time she had been unconscious.

"A-"

"Oh thanks goodness you're okay." Sighed heavily Anna, tackling her sister in a tight hug, which could have make Elsa faint just as much.

"It's… It was Ahtohallan, again." Muttered Elsa on her shoulder, regaining her strength.

"WHAT?"

She asked Anna to help her stand with a simple gesture, seeing how everyone was staring at her. The redhead frowned once they stood up completely.

"It was a vision of Ahtohallan that made you faint? But… This could have been so dangerous!"

"I'm alright."

"You fell off the tree!"

"It's fine."

"The tree is so high! You could have died!"

"I'm alive right now."

"BECAUSE I SAVED YOU!"

Elsa bit her lip. She couldn't deny that.

Anna grumbled, sighing with raw anger.

"Okay. That's enough. This is the last straw. We're going to Ahtohallan. I'm gonna show them who's boss."

The blonde calmed her with a hand on her arm, seeing how her younger had clenched her fists.

"You know you can't go there."

Anna fulminated. "Well, I'll just go in the first room."

"No, it's too cold for you."

"It's just a glacier. I've done worse."

"Anna, don't–"

"Let me _come_. Stop protecting me. You're clearly the one who needs protection right now!"

Olaf, Kristoff and Honeymaren had joined the crowd of Northuldra.

"Anna is right. You should go." Advised Honeymaren.

Elsa changed her mind a bit at her suggestion, but that wasn't enough. She stood firmly on her decision, stubborn as always: there was no way Anna would ever go to Ahtohallan. It was too dangerous.

"I want to go, Elsa." Insisted the Queen, seeing how reluctant she was. Her hands clenched her sister's. "Ahtohallan owes you an explanation for all those visions, and I _will_ obtain it."

The Fifth Spirit got a bit offended by the way she expressed it.

"It's not someone you can actually _punch,_ Anna."

The redhead frowned at the mean allusion.

"Maybe, but I have the intention to make them be explicit. And we will confront it until we get answers."

"Anna!" Scolded the elder.

"WHAT?!"

They were now arguing on a loud level, despite standing right in front of each other, and some Sami exchanged looks.

"We will NOT do that."

"And _why not?_ " Exclaimed Anna, dropping Elsa's hands to lift her arms exaggeratedly in the air.

"BECAUSE I RESPECT IT! It's the source of my magic, it's what makes me _me_ , and I won't reproach it _anything!"_

"So you're defending it? Despite what it causes you?"

"It must have a reason."

"But it makes you go crazy!"

"Are you saying i'm crazy?" Frowned Elsa, groaning at the insult.

"NO, but LOOK AT YOU! You're barely standing!" Yelled the younger.

"I'M FINE!" Screamed the blonde back, and she was so violent doing so that Olaf and Kristoff blinked in surprise.

She sniffed with a furious frown. "We are NOT going to Ahtohallan. _You_ are not going."

"Why? Because I'd freeze to death?" Guessed Anna, eye-rolling.

"Exactly because of that!"

"That could just be an excuse of yours right now. You don't want me to disrespect the magic source, uh? Even if it's to have answers for you?"

Elsa frowned, her mouth twisted. "No."

"So we're not going."

"NO."

There was a silence. Anna clenched her jaw.

"Then we're done here."

"…What?"

Anna took a step back. Away from her sister. As if hearing Elsa's final decision made her physically disgusted. She looked at her from head to toe.

"I don't have anything else to tell you. You want it to make you turn crazy? Good for you. Have fun _suffering_ , if you don't want to listen to my advice."

Elsa blinked, taken aback. Her jaw slightly dropped. Anna turned around.

"Kristoff, let's go."

The mountaineer blinked, confused, and almost everyone looked at him.

"Uh?"

"We're leaving." Blurted the Queen.

"But…"

"I SAID LET'S GO."

"I… alright."

Elsa watched Anna join Kristoff and Olaf, and she signed to Sven to pick them up. She couldn't believe her eyes. But her surprise turned into boiled anger in her stomach, shocked by her younger's behavior.

"YEAH, WELL, GO!" Yelled the Spirit, her voice strong with rage. "IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY I DON'T WANT TO CONFRONT AHTOHALLAN, THEN YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND _ME_!"

Anna's back shivered and stood still for a moment at Elsa's harsh words, acting like daggers. The crowd even gasped discreetly. But the younger shook her head with a mutter as she climbed on Sven. Silently, Kristoff followed her move, giving a sorry face to those looking at them. Sven slightly grunted.

Olaf looked devastated, his eyes glistening with tears, not knowing what to do. Elsa was fulminating, and he wanted to run to her and hug her. But Anna had her arm outstretched to him.

"Olaf. Come. She's never been good at goodbyes anyway."

Elsa missed a heartbeat at this sentence, hurting her deeply.

She barely had the time to digest it, that in a blink, Olaf climbed on Sven's back, and in one swift move and a sound of hooves, the four of them left the forest to the South.

Elsa's knees trembled, as she saw them go away. Her heart and soul felt like collapsing, and when she felt the concerned look of the Northuldra on her back, she called Nokk.

The water spirit appeared out of the nearest pond and jumped to her. It neighed in worry, feeling her emotion, but she shook her head and gave no explanation, riding them immediately. She planted her heels in their sides, and it dashed along the crowd of people, who jumped aside with a gasp.

Ironically, the two sisters were doing the same move at the same moment. Both riding to the horizon at high speed, hands clenched, frowning as they looked forward, tears flying in the air. Only, they were riding in opposite directions.

Anna was heading to Arendelle's castle, where she knew she would run to her bed and cry on her pillow, and Elsa was heading to the dark woods, where she knew she would break down and sob on the ground.

* * *

Days passed with a very gloomy atmosphere. The sisters stayed angry, and didn't exchange any letter for so long that it surprised everyone.

"She hasn't been corresponding with her?" Worried Gerda.

"No, not even a simple message. I mean, I can't precisely know, because they don't use the regular post service…" Muttered Kai. "But I'm certain that Queen Anna hasn't been sending anything in the past days."

Gerda sighed with a sad pout. "Poor girl…"

The servant was taking care of dinner with the cooks, and decided to bake a cake to make her more happy.

Kai saw her walk to the flour bags, and grabbed her arm. He shook his head.

"It's no use. She has been refusing every pastry we proposed her."

Gerda widened her eyes. "Anna? Refusing pastries?"

Kai nodded slowly with a sad face.

The woman passed a hand on her mouth. "My poor, poor girl… What happened…"

* * *

"She hasn't been sending anything? Not even… I don't know, a gift?" Worried Ryder.

Honeymaren shook her head, looking down with sadness.

"She can ask me to carve a little cute gift. I'm really good a carving wooden sheep." Suggested the Northuldra.

"Don't bother, Ryder." Said the brunette, putting her hand on her brother's shoulder. "She's not in the mood."

The Northuldra twisted his mouth as he thought. He knew Elsa since a year now… What was making her happy again when she was feeling down? He hummed as he thought, and then he naturally lifted his head to Honeymaren. She was the one.

"Hey, you should go see her. She needs your support."

The woman stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "I can have a try."

When the brunette stepped to Elsa's tent, however, she felt very reticent about entering. She took a long breath in, hoping for the best, and stepped inside.

She cared about Elsa a lot, maybe more than the blonde even knew, and more than she even admitted herself, so she felt in her core that it only could end well.

Honeymaren wasn't surprised to see that Elsa was a mess when she saw her, but it broke her heart anyway. She had been in the same state for the passing days.

At the light of the lanterns in the room, the blonde was seated on the bed, looking down as she was muttering to herself, her hair messy, her hands clenched.

When the Sami entered, she stood up in a jump.

"What have I done?" Exclaimed Elsa.

"Oh, nothing. I was just checking if you were alright." Said Honeymaren softly, reassuring her.

"Why did I say that to her?" Continued Elsa on the same panicked tone.

The brunette realized that she wasn't actually talking to her, but lost in her thoughts. However, Elsa actually was sharing her reflections out loud, which was rare. The arrival of Honeymaren had open a part of her, and she probably was the only person she was comfortable to confess too.

"I shouldn't have done that. Why did I do that? I pushed her away, like always, I'm such a monster… I shouldn't have refused her advice, I just…"

She had started crying, and was now pacing around with the most nervous speed that the Northuldra had ever seen. Elsa sometimes had panic attacks, but this was the most severe one.

"What kind of sister I am? The worst. I'm the worst. What have I done, Honeymaren?"

The woman was about to reply, but Elsa kept pacing around.

"I'm only doing that to protect her! Why can't she understand that? She can't go into Ahtohallan, she knows it! I just want her to be safe! And… And she was right about wanting me to be safe after all those visions as well. Agh, she was so right, I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid…"

Honeymaren watched her attentively and silently as she kept rambling, sobbing, panicking. The brunette couldn't do anything, and found herself still in a corner of the tent, staring at the blonde pacing around. Elsa's long hair was twirling every time she turned, her locks waving at each insistent move of the hands as she had a new strong point to make.

The Northuldra realized a lot of things she never noticed before. How come she never noticed those features before? How come she never noticed the way Elsa's big blue eyes sparkled when she was expressive? How come she never noticed the way Elsa's few freckles were enhanced by the soft light of the lanterns? How come she never noticed how her outfit sparkled when she moved, when she breathed?

And why did she notice those details now?

Honeymaren stepped forward, and Elsa kept walking around. She was getting more and more nervous, and she had to calm her down. At her next turn, Honeymaren faced her, and Elsa stopped right in her tracks, to avoid bumping on her.

There were a few seconds of silence, as she wondered why the woman was staring at her.

"…What?" She asked.

Honeymaren approached her face to hers.

And kissed Elsa on the lips.

It was tender, soft, surprising. There was a moment of floating, like time got magically paused.

Slowly, Honeymaren pulled away. They stared at each other, speechless. Elsa had her mouth open, her face covered with tears, her eyes wide.

Honeymaren cleared her throat. "I'm sorry."

Another silence passed.

"I shouldn't have." She muttered.

It caused a blank, and Elsa actually forgot what she even was talking about, what she even was sad and panicked about. All those feelings were like gone, vanishing away. Instead, in the center of her brain and heart, now sparkled something completely different, so radiating that it pushed everything away. Pure, soft, beaming love.

Honeymaren looked down after Elsa's lack of answer, and muttered "I'm sorry" again, before walking around to leave the tent.

But right before she did, something held her arm. She turned around, and Elsa was staring at her, her big blue eyes filled with new tears.

And they weren't sad ones, Honeymaren could tell by a simple gaze. Her heart jumped in her chest.

Elsa stepped forward to her, closed her eyes, and kissed her back.

Her kiss was longer than Honeymaren's, even softer, but more humid too. Elsa's lips trembled.

The brunette got worried, so when Elsa stopped the kiss and took a shaking inspiration, she slowly stepped back and looked at the blonde.

"Are you okay?"

Elsa stared at her again, silently again, and gulped. She had stopped crying, yet didn't rub her tears, and they kept making her cheeks glisten in the light of the lanterns.

Honeymaren couldn't decode her expression. Elsa looked like a thousand emotions were bumping in her mind at the same time, and she was still processing what had just happened. She stared at Honeymaren's eyes, and the latter worried.

"Elsa, are you sure that you want th–"

The blonde jumped to Honeymaren's arms and kissed her again. This time, it was deep, and passionate, and the Northuldra closed her eyes and gave all of her love back.

It was mutual, with a shared strength. As the kiss regained and continued, they put their arms around each other, Honeymaren's hands passing in Elsa's hair, Elsa slightly clenching Honeymaren's coat, feelings roaming her skin.

The kiss was intense, loving, warm…

And unexpectedly, healing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D A very emotional chapter! A simple warning when reading my fanfics guys: always have tissues at the ready.
> 
> This is a very meaningful chapter to me, and it's a key pivot point in the story, both for Elsamaren and Snow Sisters dynamics. Get ready for what follows… ;)


	7. Blossoming

**Chapter 7: Blossoming**

Kristoff rose his hands.

"Elsa, breathe calmly. I came alone."

The Fifth Spirit's nervous breathing slowed down, and her shoulders lowered a bit. Around her, the air seemed to warm up.

She just had a panic attack when she saw Kristoff in the forest, walking by Sven's side. She lowered her arms that she had put up earlier to use her magic if needed.

"Hey, it's okay." Assured the man, seeing how panicked she had been.

He stepped to her, and they hugged as a greeting. Elsa smiled weakly to Sven, petting his head.

Kristoff then frowned in confusion. "What are you doing here? The camp is miles away. And you don't have Nokk with you."

"I, uh… I needed to take a walk."

Elsa had her left hand clutching her right arm, and Kristoff knew this posture really well. Including which mental state it meant.

"What are  _ you _ doing here?" Asked Elsa, a bit defensively, before he even said anything.

"I was around, for work, and I thought I could drop by. I'm exploring the nearby lakes to see which spots we could use with my team of ice harvesters."

"Spots?" Repeated Elsa, a bit numb.

"When the lakes will get frozen this Winter. With the cold. As we are up North. To get the ice."

"To get the ice?" Repeated the Spirit, again.

Kristoff had a scoff chuckle at her state.

"You made me Official Ice Master and Deliverer four years ago, remember?" He laughed.

Elsa blinked, and nodded when everything finally clicked in her mind. "Yeah, yeah, right."

She still wasn't looking at him, and he got concerned.

"Are you okay?"

That was a stupid question, he knew that the sisters weren't okay. He was naturally clumsy at social interactions, so he briskly coughed and found another topic of discussion.

"How was your week?"

Elsa stared at him in an odd way, and the blond worried.

"What?"

She sighed. Elsa realized, by Kristoff's kind and soft presence, that she needed a confidant. She hadn't talked to anyone about what happened with Honeymaren, and was even avoiding the Northuldra people just in case someone would ask, cleverly pretending that she was busy in the wild to not spent too much time in the camp.

"I… Can we talk?" She asked.

Kristoff smiled with his usual kindness. "That's why I'm here."

Elsa had a relieved sigh. "We should sit down."

The mountaineer looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere, and there was no fallen trunk on which they could sit. Suddenly, a crunching noise came to Kristoff's ears, and he recognized it as being Elsa's ice crafting an object. He looked down and saw a bench, transparent and shining in its magic. Sven jumped in appreciation, and the ice harvester whistled.

She sat heavily, like she had a very tiring day, and he passed a hand along the backrest. "Flawless. Like always."

His compliment finally made Elsa smile, and they exchanged a happy face. He sat down next to her.

"What is going on? Tell me."

He turned his face to his sister-in-law. She didn't have her arms crossed anymore, but her hands were clenched on the ice seat on each side of her thighs, and he wondered if that was any better. Elsa took a long time before gathering enough courage to speak.

"IkissedHoneymaren."

"Excuse me?"

"I…"

She tightened her fingers, and took a shaking breath out.

"I kissed Honeymaren."

Kristoff's eyes widened. Sven abruptly lifted his head from the grass with a surprised grunt.

And Elsa immediately buried her face in her hands.

"Ooooh, why did I say that…" She muttered, her voice masked by her palms.

"Wait wait wait… You…"

He couldn't believe it. He was happy for her, but also completely bewildered. Elsa had gained a lot of confidence in the passed years on the physical plan, both for her and about touching others, but… This?

"Were you… The one who initiated the kiss?"

She looked at the horizon. "Yes."

Her eyes widened suddenly. "I mean, NO! No, it wasn't me. But then… Yes."

A thousand questions bumped each other in the blond's head, and Sven and him exchanged a glance, yet he shook his head and stayed on the supportive aspect.

"Was it… Great?" He asked.

She lifted her palms to the sky.

"I don't know, Kristoff! It was the first time I ever kissed someone!"

The mountaineer put a soft hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Okay. Okay. I just want to know if you were comfortable with it. It's important, you know. How did it feel?"

Elsa bit her lip, hesitating to confess. She hesitated on telling Kristoff, but after all, he was caring and listening, and they knew each other well. They were family. She took another breath in and tried to remember the details.

"It was… Humid, and…"

The blond frowned. "Ew."

"I was  _ crying _ , Kristoff."

"Oh. Oh, okay. My bad. Keep going."

He wanted to ask why she was crying, but he had a little idea about it. Anna was shocked since their dispute as well. Elsa fidgeted with her hands as she continued.

"It felt… Warm. Like, I never felt this warm in my entire life. I mean, I have, when I'm with you, and Anna, and Olaf, and Sven, and… In the castle, and in the Northuldra camp, with-"

"I think you mean that this time, it was the warmth of love." Said Kristoff, cutting her nervous rambling.

She looked at him with a still expression. As if it just occurred to her that it's what it was. Yet, she knew it from the very second it happened. Why did it help to hear Kristoff saying it?

"Yes. Yes, it was the warmth of love."

Elsa's worried face broke in a soft smile for a moment. "It was."

Kristoff nodded with happiness, sharing her glee. She kind of exhaled an aura.

He laid on the back of the ice bench, smelling the forest. He let her have a pause in her story to decompress. Some birds chirped in the distance, and Sven chewed the grass a few meters further.

"Did you like it?"

"I… I did, yes."

He nodded. Those were important questions, and she seemed honest about it. From the corner of his eye, he could see her blush, and he smiled.

"So you both love each other. I'm hoping it wasn't rushed?"

"No, we… It was mutual."

The mountaineer nodded with approval.

"Great. The first time Anna and I kissed, I asked for permission first. It was clumsy, I admit it, but I still asked."

"It kind of was awkward for us both as well."

Elsa suddenly groaned and buried her face in her hands again. "Why is love so complicated?"

Kristoff burst of laughter. "It always is! And you're at the beginning of it. For now, it's still blossoming…"

He made a gesture with her hands to mime the opening of a lotus flower, and he froze in his move when he saw how Elsa was looking at her.

"I mean…" Coughed the man. "I guess."

She continued to stare at him, then groaned again, this time wiping her head back. She looked like she was imploring the gods, but above all was very dramatic, and it reminded Kristoff of Anna.

"You and your sister are a lot alike, you know that?"

Elsa sighed at the sudden change of topic. "If it's a way to make me talk to her again…"

"No, I meant, on the groaning plan. You have the same way to complain about stuff."

"We do?"

"Don't tell me you never noticed?!"

Elsa stared down, thinking. And it just occurred to her how much time had passed since the last day she saw her little sister. Her heart felt pinched.

She didn't dare to say it out loud, but she needed to talk to Anna. To share this, to be completely open about to someone. Kristoff could understand most of it, and she would willfully share how it went to him, but it wasn't the same thing that talking about it to Anna.

"Elsa."

_ 'I need to talk with Anna again. I have to. I must…' _ She thought.

"Elsa!" Said Kristoff, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

The Spirit blinked at the sudden call. "What?"

"You were daydreaming for a moment. Ryder has just arrived. He wants to see you."

"What?"

They turned around, and Ryder was waving at Elsa from the back of a reindeer.

"There you are!" Shouted the Northuldra. "I have to talk to you!"

Elsa blushed and panicked. "Ohhhh no, no no no, I'm not ready for this conversation right now."

Kristoff frowned at her. "He's just asking you to call for the Giants help to check if all the reindeer are in his enclosure."

"Oh." Muttered Elsa.

She thought that Ryder was going to talk about his sister. Did he know, anyway? Did Honeymaren confessed to him, like Elsa just did with Kristoff?

Elsa nervously stood up in one go, and Kristoff yelped when he suddenly found himself slamming the ground with his butt. Sven had a laughing grunt. Elsa had vanished the bench without looking behind.

"Ouch." Grumbled the man.

"Oh, sorry, I just…"

"No, it's okay. You're used to thaw everything once it's not of use anymore, I get it…" Said Kristoff, wincing however as his coccyx hurt.

He joined Sven, and looked at the sky. "I should go. Otherwise, night will fall before I get to Arendelle, and I promised to Anna that I would arrive before dinner."

Elsa looked away from Ryder to stare at Kristoff with panic.

"Don't tell her that you saw me today."

"She won't get jealous." Joked Kristoff.

"No, what I mean is… She'll want to get some news, and…"

"You know she'll ask."

"Just lie, then."

"I'm not gonna lie to her, Elsa. I never do."

The blonde looked down. "Fine. Then tell her. But… Please make sure that she doesn't worry."

He climbed on Sven and chuckled. "Oh, when I'll tell her how you are, I'm sure she will be the opposite of worried."

Elsa blushed, and bit her lip. "That… That doesn't change what I said to her. I still stand my ground."

"Hmm-hmm." Smiled Kristoff.

He gave her a last nod, and tapped his heels in Sven's flanks. Together, they rode down to the South.

"So…"

Elsa startled with a jump at Ryder's sudden voice.

"Could you call the Giants for me? I need to check…"

"Right. On my way. I'm going." Blabbered Elsa clumsily, trying to avoid eye contact and walking past him.

"Cool."

* * *

Elsa went down from the Giant's shoulder with the help of their enormous hand, and thanked them with a deep smile and a soft touch on the chin. They gave a smile that was the size of a house in return, and stood up to join their friends who were sleeping in the distance.

"Thank you so much!" Exclaimed Ryder after he counted the reindeer. "That was awesome. And badass."

Elsa chuckled at the compliment and vocabulary.

"Oh, while I'm thinking of it!" He added, scratching his head under his hat. "Honeymaren was looking for you, just earlier. She couldn't find you for the whole day, apparently."

Elsa's glee vanished. She gulped.

"Have you been hiding?" Asked Ryder.

"What? Me…? No, not at all!" Blushed Elsa, looking elsewhere.

"Uh-uh."

"I just… Explored. So, if you see her again, you can just tell her that I'm… Exploring."

" _ Uh-uh _ ", nodded the Northuldra, on a different tone this time, smirking.

Elsa waved with an awkward by-bye and walked to the forest. The trees somehow made her feel like she was isolated without getting too far from the village.

"She'd be the worst at hide and seek", muttered Ryder with a shake of the head. His reindeer grunted in approval.

* * *

The Fifth Spirit walked for several minutes on her own, then found a welcoming shadow cast by a big tree in an isolated glade. She sat on the grass and sighed.

There was a crack sound above her head, and some leaves fluttered to the ground. She frowned with confusion and lifted her eyes.

"Hey."

Elsa screamed at the top of her lungs when she suddenly faced Honeymaren upside down.

She froze a part of the ground, spiky layers of ice covering the grass and the tree.

With a heavy breathing, she stared angrily at the woman for scaring her, and tried to take her hands off the ice, both clamped to the ground on each side of her hips.

Honeymaren skillfully dropped off the tree with a flip from the branch she had been hanging from with her legs, and bent to her.

"You've been avoiding me. Is this how you deal with emotions?"

Elsa looked elsewhere, blushing. Honeymaren softened her tone.

"I'm not reproaching anything. I'm just asking. Is this how you deal with your feelings? By running away? Hiding in some place? Do you want to be left alone? For how long?"

Elsa stared at her, her mouth twisting.

"Okay maybe that was too many questions at a time." Admitted the brunette. "You're an introvert, I get it. But I just want to know why you're shunning. Are you okay? That's all that matters to me."

The blonde gulped, and nodded. "I'm alright."

Honeymaren smiled, sighing a bit. "Perfect."

Somehow, her care helped Elsa to melt the ice, and she shook her hands as the magic vanished.

"No spooking anymore, noted." Said the Northuldra when she understood the state she was in.

"You scared the hell out of me", muttered Elsa.

"And you swear a lot when you're scared." Pointed Honeymaren, sitting in lotus position in front of her. "One unprepared moment and you loose your regal and poised mask, uh?"

Elsa smiled a bit. "Anna had noticed that out as well."

"Then it's true."

A silence fell. Honeymaren gently nudged Elsa's knee with her finger, like a 'boop!' gesture.

"What's wrong? Why are you needing all that space? Communication is important."

Elsa stared at her. She was right. The Spirit took a long breath in and out.

"I just need to think."

Honeymaren bent her head. "Do you need to think because you kissed someone? Or because you kissed a girl?"

Elsa blushed, and looked down shyly.

"It's the first time I ever kissed someone."

"Oh."

A new silence passed. They both looked elsewhere. Honeymaren smiled.

"So it's not me. Thanks Ahtohallan, I thought you didn't like it."

She snorted at her own joke. "Sorry. I thought that some humor would help."

Elsa smiled. "No, it's not because of you. I just… Need some time to process everything."

The Sami nodded. "If you want to have a positive thought, just know that you're actually a really good kisser."

Elsa blushed strongly.

"This just makes everything worse, stop."

"Excuse me. I was too sincere." Apologized Honeymaren, and she had a tender laugh. "It's just… We both  _ loved  _ it, Elsa. And kissing a girl apparently isn't the problem. So… Is there something else bothering you? Do you want to talk about it? I'm willing to listen, at your own rhythm."

Elsa bit her lip with emotion at her words.

"Oh no, you're crying." Gasped the Sami woman, noticing now Elsa's eyes had filled with tears.

"Those are happy tears", said Elsa.

Honeymaren's eyes widened. "Really?"

The blonde nodded, her pout turning into a smile. She sniffed. "I'm just very emotional, that's all."

Honeymaren melted in a warm smile. "It's great to be emotional. It's normal. As an example, I couldn't sleep all night after you left the tent."

"You mean, after I  _ ran away _ from the tent."

The brunette shrugged. "Details, details."

Elsa snorted. Honeymaren smiled in victory to see that she had managed to make her laugh again.

Her confession touched Elsa. "I couldn't find sleep either."

She sniffed and kept going, feeling in a good mood to express her emotions. "I'm used to insomnia, but this is a whole other level."

"Yeah, no kidding." Laughed Honeymaren.

She was staring at the blonde, particularly enjoying when she blushed.

Elsa smirked, noticing the way she stared. "Do you actually enjoy watching me being bashful?"

The brunette smiled dreamily. "You have no idea how cute you look when you are."

She then blushed a bit. Words had escaped her mouth.

The two woman looked elsewhere awkwardly. Honeymaren massaged her neck, and Elsa nudged some blades of grass with the side of her ice sandal.

"Do you-"

"Can I-"

They had spoken at the same time.

"You first", invited Elsa politely.

"No, you first. Go ahead. You're a Spirit."

"Don't treat me religiously." Elsa laughed.

Why was Honeymaren always making her laugh?

"Well, as far as I know, you're basically a goddess, so…"

"Honey, please."

They both widened their eyes.

"Ugh, I did it again." Grumbled Elsa, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It's alright. I like it."

"…It's very cheesy."

"Actually, it's  _ sugary _ . But even if it's ridiculous, I like it. You can stick to it."

Elsa shook her head. Then sighed. Why struggling? "Okay, fine. Honey."

Honeymaren bit her lip at the effect it had.

"I like how it sounds, now that you actually say it."

"I'll stop if you make it awkward." Warned Elsa.

Honeymaren bit her lip again with a smirk and looked at the trees.

After a silence, the blonde passed a shy finger along the Northuldra's boot. "I didn't mean to hide from you, I just… It's been a lot, lately. What happened with Anna… What happened with you…" She moaned. "I feel like my heart's going to explode."

Honeymaren tapped on her hand with comprehension. "Would that help if we talked about it? You were overreacting yesterday, but now it looks like you stepped back a bit. We can have a chat."

"I'd love that." Smiled Elsa.

And in the warming light of the sun, they talked together, their fingers intertwined.

* * *

Elsa hesitated before calling out the Wind Spirit and giving them her new letter to Anna. She had been putting everything in it. Her deep thoughts, her apologies… How would Anna react? She had been waiting so long before finally sending a message to her young sister. Would she be mad?

Her fingers pressed the paper as she thought about how she included the news of her kiss with Honeymaren. The Northuldra had made her comfortable enough to share it with her sister, and Elsa thought it was a good decision to tell Anna, as they promised they would never hide anything to each other. But how would Anna react to that, as well? What would she say?

Elsa sighed with a shaking breathing, apprehending Anna's answer. With a trembling voice, she called Gale, and her call echoed in the empty portion of the woods she had been retreating in.

After a few seconds, the Wind Spirit arrived, chiming in the air, and Elsa cleared her throat to chase her emotion.

"Could you please give this message to my sister?"

She raised her letter and Gale did a twirl and swooped the paper. They rose in the air, above her head, and threw the paper to her.

Elsa caught it and sighed. "Don't throw it back, I mean it. Send it to Anna, please."

She gave the letter back, but the Spirit brought it in her hands again.

"What are you doing? You've been annoying me for  _ days _ saying I should message her, and now you give it back to me? Send my le–"

Then Elsa realized that it wasn't her letter. The folding shape… It was Anna's.

"What the…"

She stared at it, unbelieving. It indeed was Anna's. "She wrote too?"

The Wind Spirit chimed. Elsa interpreted some impatience from it, and suddenly she understood. Her eyes stung and her vision blurred.

"She… She asked you to give me her letter only once I was ready to write mine?"

Gale swooped in a move that was the equivalent of nodding.

Elsa was shocked. Her sister has respected her time of reflection and chose to only message her once she was in the mood to talk to her?

The blonde brought her hand to her mouth, gasped, and melted into tears. She slowly fell to the ground, sit on her heels, her legs bent.

"Oh, Anna…" She muttered, smiling despite the tears. "What would I be without you. And your patience. And your understanding."

Elsa sighed with a warm smile. She looked up and saw that Gale was still standing there, or rather, floating there, as if waiting for her to open it. They apparently have been waiting a long time to deliver Anna's letter.

"You can go deliver mine, now", smiled Elsa.

The Spirit did a twirl before leaving, which would mean 'Of course!', and went out of the forest to the South.

Elsa was in a calm and silent setting again, and was glad to be so in order to read Anna's letter with all the attention it deserved. With slightly shaking hands, she looked at the folded paper. Despite their dispute, her sister still had wrapped the message in a cute little shape, like always. This time, it was a horse.

The blonde sniffed, gently unfolded it, and rubbed her eyes before reading, so she could see her sister's warm handwriting clearly.

_ So you finally decided to message me. _ \- Elsa had a tearful giggle. -

_ Look, I'm sorry. I truly am. You know that I can get very heated and outspoken when I'm worried, and, you know, I was. _

_ You say that this is a default that actually can be a quality for a Queen, in tough meetings and all, but I hope that it's not going to be a default for us both, as family, as sisters. _

_ I can see Olaf from where I'm writing (the ballroom's balcony) and he's really sad since our argument. The village's kids are in the market square and traced a hopscotch on the ground with him, but he's barely in the mood to play. This reminds me that, as soon as we arrived home, he told me that I shouldn't have said that you weren't good at goodbyes, for he had forgiven you about that time when you sent us away on the ice boat.  _ \- tears went down Elsa's cheeks, and she laughed nervously when Anna's next sentence was _ 'He truly is what connects us.'. _

_ I already forgave you for what you told me. I know that, as well, you can lose your temper when you're angry. I'm sorry if I made you say bad stuff (that you surely regretted as soon as you went away on Nokk), and I hope that you can forgive me too. _

_ I came to realize that it's something I'll often have to do, as a leader. _

_ Take your time, but if you want to meet up some day, message me when and where. _

_ I love you _

_ Anna _

_ PS: Don't pick up 'midway' as the meeting place, I found ants in my travel boots again the other day, and ugh. _

Elsa re-read the letter several times, delighted to lay eyes on her sister's words again, and then started to laugh. It was a sniffing laugh at first, but then it became clear, and happy, and finally she laughed openly in the woods, filled with her sister's love. She had missed her so much.

* * *

Elsa wrote a new letter to her sister in the following afternoon, after an idea crossed her mind. In fact, once she got the idea, it then took her several hours to think it through, but when she finally stop listing the thousand pros and cons of her decisions, she took a paper in her tent and grabbed a pencil, and went to a calm place in the village to write.

_ Anna _

_ First and foremost, I love you with all my heart. You were right about me waiting such a long time before eventually sending you a message after our dispute, and you were right about everything. You ARE right about everything, in fact. _

_ That's why, for the place we'll meet, I suggest you the Northuldra village. It's not very exceptional, you may think, but that's because I want to take you on a ride. _

_ I want to show you Ahtohallan. It is time. We're going to Ahtohallan together. And find answers there. I know I refused each time you suggested it for the past year but now I'm certain. I took my decision. You were right, again, when you said that I have to go there and know once and for all the reason why I got those visions. We're going to get the answers, sis. Together. _

_ I love you. _

_ Elsa _

_ PS: Bring as many warm clothes as you can, obviously. _

She closed the letter by folding it twice and sealing it with a big five elements snowflake. Her perfectionism hit and she made sure it was symmetrical.

Once done, she joined the middle of the village, where Honeymaren and some kids were playing with the Wind Spirit. When she approached, Gale noticed the letter in her hand and strongly twirled around her arm to pick it up, making Elsa giggle at the sudden tug in her sleeve.

"Yes, it's for her. Go."

Gale didn't wait any longer and brought the letter to the South. Elsa shook her head at how the Spirit was the number one fan of their correspondence.

Honeymaren approached as she was looking at it flying away.

"So, you agreed about going to Ahtohallan with her?" The brunette smiled.

Elsa smiled back with a nod, then suddenly froze. "How do you know?"

The Northuldra winked. "I know you, that's all. You have that little sparkle in the eye when you've done a right action."

The blonde stared at her, then smirked lightly. "Do I have this little sparkle often?"

"That's one of the things I like the most about you." Whispered Honeymaren, bending to her.

Elsa had a pout in-between happiness and awkwardness.

"This and all the moments when you smile. And the bashful faces, like the one you're making right now." Smiled Honeymaren.

The Spirit nervously held her arm and looked down. She smiled and came closer to Honeymaren to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm gonna go check on Bruni. I haven't seem him in a while."

"Okay." Muttered Honeymaren, standing still and blushing.

Honeymaren watched her walk away through the village, admiring her, and when she turned her head back to the kids who she had been playing with, they all looked up at her with devilish and significant smiles.

"What?"

They all started making smooching faces and sounds, and she pushed them away with a laugh.

"Oh, stop it!"

* * *

To say that the two sisters were happy to see each other again was the understatement of the month, and probably the year.

Elsa had asked Gale to not tell her when Anna would be here because she wanted to give her her own rhythm, something her younger had respected and that she intended to do too.

So when Elsa had stepped out of the tent and heard hooves coming from the woods and saw Sven hurry to her with a very excited redhead on his back, she didn't expected it at all.

Elsa let out a soft emotional gasp, her gaze blurry, and Anna jumped down Sven with a cry of joy. They both ran to each other, and tackled each other into a hug so hard that they lost their balance and fell together to the ground.

Unfortunately, they were on the bottom of a hill, and rolled together on the grass for a moment before arriving to a full stop. Sven grunted with concern. They giggled nervously a few meters below, then fully laughed. They grinned and stared into each other's eyes, taking in the incredible fact to see her sister again, to be happy with her again, to have forgiven everything. Azure and teal blue eyes switched from eye to eye.

"No, don't cry!" Gasped Anna. "Because if you cry, then I'll cry too, and then we'll both cry, and we'll spend all day crying."

Elsa giggled with a sniff. "Too late. I can't help it."

Anna blinked, and one tear rolled on her cheek. "Oh, you cutie."

They hugged each other again, and they were still down, so they sat up with a giggle. Elsa smiled at Anna's travel outfit and hair, and took some leaves out it. They hugged again, instinctively.

"There's so much I want to say…" Murmured Elsa, emotion tightening her throat.

"Then say it all. We have all day." Smiled Anna.

She then suddenly gasped, and parted the hug. "Oh my goodness! You have to tell me about Honeymaren! When was it? How was it?  _ Where _ was it?"

Elsa blinked, and winced. "Are you sure you want to know in details?"

"I want to know EVERY detail, are you kidding me?!" Laughed Anna. "Come on, do tell."

The blonde breathed in and out, looking into Anna's teal blue eyes. She had missed her caring gaze. This few days separation was far from being the longest one they had in the past year, and yet it felt like forever.

Why did they even yell at each other? She couldn't believe how stupid they were.

Elsa held Anna's hand, and she started to tell what happened in the hut.

* * *

"Should we stay seated here?" Asked Anna.

"Why? You don't like it?" Laughed Elsa.

"No, it's just… I arrived, and we basically fell on the ground. And we haven't moved since."

"I like improvising with you. And as you said, we've got all day."

Anna smiled deeply.

"Hey, I noticed, after our fight… I didn't even ask you what was the Ahtohallan vision about. What did you see?"

Elsa fidgeted with the grass. "It was more of a flash. It was short, and intense."

She looked up.

"You were right in your assumption. It was another memory of ours. This time, it was a memory of the coronation."

"What?"

"Wait, mine, not yours. The one three years ago."

Anna stared at her, and her eyebrows lifted when she guessed which memory it was.

"I had a flash of the very first moment we actually talked to each other in thirteen years." Specified Elsa, gulping.

Anna put her hand on hers on the grass, trying to make her smile. "It's a positive memory, no?"

"Yes. Yes, it is. But I'm still confused at why Ahtohallan showed it to me…"

Anna winced. "What is ironic is that we fought each other right afterwards, whereas the memory was about us being united for the first time in a long while."

"It's okay. We're together now." Assured Elsa.

Anna nodded with a smile, and a silence passed.

"I think that it's official: Ahtohallan only submits visions of memories of the bridge." Suddenly stated Elsa.

"Of the bridge? Do you mean, like…"

"Us. Both of us, the bridge linking the humans and Nature Spirits."

"I see. Well, you actually brought even more sense to it than I did."

"No, I only figured it out thanks to you. I was used to see so many memories, I didn't even perceive the pattern until you pointed it out the other day in the reindeer enclosure."

"Oh."

"You're the smart one, Anna. How many times do I have to remind you?"

Anna snorted. "Well, I'm dumb enough to have stopped counting."

"Don't say that!" Nudged Elsa with her finger poking Anna's ribs. "You truly are more clever than me."

Anna laughed at the tickle and smiled at the compliment. "Okay, if you say so."

Elsa turned to Sven. "Did you bring warm clothes?"

"As many as I could."

The reindeer happily showed the pile of winter clothes stacked on his back. Elsa grinned to her little sister.

"We're going to Ahtohallan together. Whenever you're ready."

"I was  _ born _ ready!"

* * *

Elsa lifted her hands as a serious warning.

"I feel like it's important to remind you that I don't know if Ahtohallan got any less colder since I became the Fifth Spirit. I can't tell if the temperature got better in the memories room."

"It's gonna be okay, Elsa. Relax."

Elsa lifted an eyebrow.

"You're the one who needs to relax now. You're so tense, you look like you're going to sink in your layered clothes."

Anna clenched her hands in her gloves. She was staring at Nokk, standing near them.

The redhead had never dared to ride the Water Spirit because she felt like she didn't belong on their back, and wanted to leave that honor to Elsa. She also still was resentful for having drowned her sister, even if it was in the context of a challenge, and she hoped that the magical being wasn't feeling her anger.

The elder's gaze switched from the Spirit to her.

"Are you scared of them?" Worried Elsa.

"What? Of course not. I know how to ride horses. But… A  _ water _ horse… This is  _ definitely _ not something I've done before."

"Well, Nokk can only run in and on water anyway. I need to freeze them if we want to ride from land to the shore as well."

The Fifth Spirit raised her left hand, and petted the magical horse on the nose. With a simple touch, their translucent body turned into a gradient of white, and their long waterfall mane looked like a stylized curtain. Anna had already seen them in this condition, but she gasped and smiled in admiration anyway.

The redhead looked at Elsa as she stroked the happy Water Spirit. "We're gonna ride them in… Ice form? Are you certain?"

"Do you prefer to have your butt wet and lukewarm, or dry and cold?" Asked Elsa, surprisingly serious in that odd question.

Anna went speechless for a moment, then snorted. "Yeah, when you put it like that, I prefer the second option."

"That's what I thought", said Elsa, petting Nokk's neck. "Also, it's a good way to prepare yourself for Ahtohallan's temperature."

The younger could see that Elsa was still very nervous at the idea of bringing her there. She went next to her and joked to light up her mood.

"Are you saying that my buttocks will turn into pop-sicles?"

Elsa laughed. It had worked.

"Maybe."

She checked that they had all they needed in Anna's backpack, and asked: "Do you want to go in front or behind?"

Anna didn't even have to think. "Definitely behind you. There's no way on Earth that I'm gonna guide them with ice reins."

"We don't use ice reins since a very long time. We know each other by heart, there's no need."

"I'm also saying that because I prefer to hold to you." Muttered Anna, on a lower voice this time.

"Oh, okay." Smiled the elder. "Alright, let's go!"

With a baffling ease, she mounted Nokk, her leg admirably passing above their back and seating in a second on top, despite their tall size. Anna stared at her like she had just produced a miracle.

"How the heck did you do that without stirrup? They're huge!"

Elsa laughed with a cute tone, both amused by Anna's face and appreciating the compliment. "Come, I'll help you."

She let out a hand, and Anna used her help to climb on their back. Clumsily - and she almost fell on the other side - she set herself behind Elsa, and looked around.

"Yep, definitely taller than any horse I ever rode. Oh my gosh."

"It's gonna be okay", said Elsa's soothing voice in front of her.

"I know."

She was glad to have chosen to seat behind her. Elsa's presence in front of her was reassuring, and the ice below them vibrated with her voice.

With a twirl of the wrist, Elsa made her double train vanish, just in case it would get in Anna's face as they ride, or obstruct her vision. She looked up North.

"Do you want me to start slowly? With a simple trot at first?"

Anna smirked. "Are you kidding? Don't spare me. I like fast. Dash to the horizon, mighty Spirit!"

She let out an excited war shout with her fists up, then it suddenly turned into a strangled scream when Nokk briskly ran forward at Elsa's order, and she grabbed her older sister's waist with force.

The blonde laughed openly, her voice spraying in the wind as they went at full speed. Anna could feel how her diaphragm moved with sincere laughs, and she was even more happy now to share this moment with her.

She loved to have Elsa back. Her happiness was all that mattered to her, and Elsa had never felt more happy than in this time of her life.

* * *

It wasn't the same feeling at all than when she rode her own horse; Anna forgot for a moment the urgency to ask Ahtohallan, and her worry for Elsa. All she wanted now was to laugh and have fun with her riding Nokk.

Riding the Water Spirit, she had the feeling that she was on another plane of existence. Was this what living with magic felt like?

The redhead felt how joyful Elsa was anyway. It was like riding through the magical lands on a magical horse had unveiled the final version of herself, and, sitting behind her, Anna admired the way her elder expertly looked at the landscape around, gave directions to Nokk to avoid bumpy paths for Anna's comfort, and waved at Giants in the distance.

Soon they arrived to the shore of the Dark Sea, and the younger widened her eyes when she realized that Nokk wasn't slowing down at all. She squinted in apprehension, her legs clamping the water horse's body, her arms tight around Elsa.

And then nothing happened. Nothing, in the good way. She opened her eye fully and let out a silent gasp as she saw the waves passing by, on each side of them, and the Spirit galloping with ease through it like it were casual land.

"Waow." Muttered Anna.

"Is the view great from where you are?" Asked Elsa, smiling as she turned around.

Anna couldn't believe it. That was her first concern? To make sure she enjoyed the landscape fully?

"Yeah! Yeah, it's amazing." Smiled Anna.

The sisters had to shout a bit when they talked, because of the whistling of the wind and the sound of Nokk's ice hooves splashing the water. If they kept them in their regular state and they were made of water, it wouldn't make a sound, for the water spirit's hooves were magically connected to the surface.

Anna blinked.

"I can't believe it. I'm literally riding water. I'm literally sitting on moving water that literally gallop on water."

Elsa heard her sister's mutters in her back, and giggled.

"This can't be the weirdest thing you've ever experienced."

Anna shook her head, her arms still clenched around Elsa, and she was surprised that her elder was confident enough to look behind her and not check where they were going at such a speed.

"No, your magic made me used to way weirder." Laughed Anna. "But still. This is… Waow."

The redhead smiled, tension finally leaving her, and she was appreciating the moment. "How did it feel the first time you rode them?"

Elsa smiled, and turned to the horizon with a blessed sigh. "Incredible."

"Yeah, well, I can't believe it either. This is insane." Snorted Anna.

The water horse neighed, and Elsa laughed. "They like the compliment", informed the blonde.

Anna detached her gaze from the sea to look at her sister. "You can understand everything they say? I mean, feel?"

"Yes. It's like a bond. A magical one, certainly. I have the same with Bruni, and Gale, and every Earth Giant."

"Every single one? Damn, that's a lot."

Elsa laughed. "I don't feel the emotions of everyone all the time. It's like… When I need it. And when  _ they _ need it. We understand each other."

Anna grinned. "It's cute."

She hugged Elsa tighter, and the Spirit wondered if she was scared of something despite how calm the water was. Then she realized that Anna was casually hugging her. She smiled and put a hand on her sister's.

* * *

After dismissing Nokk and letting Anna admire the entrance of the glacier, Elsa looked at how Anna was exhaling smoke.

The younger noticed how she stared, and chuckled at how she was the only one to do puff smoke. She imitated a dragon to make Elsa smile. But joy didn't stay long on her sister's face.

"You should put your beanie on already."

Anna put the hat on her hair and nearly sank her head into it.

"Is your coat closed tight?"

"Yes, don't worry." Smiled Anna.

Elsa came to her, and checked the state of her clothes herself, from her toes to her head. She took a full minute doing so, and the redhead stared at her in silence, with a touched expression. The elder was looking at her with deep focus in her blue eyes, and Anna felt like she was a kid again, when the elder checked on her before they went outside to build a snowman. She also knew that Elsa had issues about her getting cold because of her.

"Elsa, I'm fine."

"What did we say about the conditions?" Frowned the blonde.

Anna had to physically restrain herself to eye roll. "No lies; If I'm too cold, I tell you; And I don't protest if you decide to cancel everything and to get out."

She repeated that rule with a very annoying tone, and Elsa actually laughed at it. "You sound like you just recited a poetry you hate."

"You made your rules that way." Joked Anna. "Wait, did I use to recite poetry?"

"I can find you the memory again if you want. You look adorable when you're little."

"Oh, I don't know if I'm ready for the awkward parts…" Winced Anna.

Elsa smiled. "Trust me, I have the worst ones."

She took Anna's hand in hers. "Come on, let's go."

The redhead gave her a giant smile, and together, they stepped inside Ahtohallan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo, this was a long chapter! I had lots of fun writing it, and really wanted to include all of that. Ice Bros, Snow Sisters, Elsamaren… Those are all relationships that requires tons of drama and confessions hahaha - but also cute moments!
> 
> Also ooooobviously Anna and Elsa weren't going to stay angry at each other forever. And oooobviously Anna had waited for Elsa to take her time to answer before making her receive her own letter. They have a really dorky and sassy and cute dynamic and all of it with deep love, it's a delight to write about it! Including drama, teheheheh.
> 
> Before clicking on next chapter, please drop a little comment :3 Cheers!


	8. Emergence

**Chapter 8: Emergence**

"Are you sure that I won't damage it with the spikes of my boots?" Worried Anna.

Elsa looked down to Anna's feet and saw how careful she was when she stepped. She chuckled. "It's gonna be alright. It's a good thing Kristoff gave you those mountain boots. I'll fill the holes if you make some, don't worry."

"I don't want to ruin the deco", smiled Anna, looking around.

She was constantly exhaling smoke, which highlighted the fact that she had been jaw-dropping since they entered Ahtohallan an hour ago. The redhead's wondering eyes were sparkling with amazement, looking up, down, around, admiring every little detail of the glacier, and every detail that Elsa had added in the walls, every light the magic ice had, every layer that made Ahtohallan.

"This place is really huge."

"You've only seen a third of it so far." Smiled Elsa.

"Really? Waow."

"This place is ancestral. Several millennia old. I think I could spend each minute of my life trying to see all of it in every detail and still miss some."

"It's so beautiful."

"I think so too." Smiled the blonde.

They had arrived to a pit, which Elsa usually crossed by jumping on pillars for fun, and she crafted a stair case for her sister and her to go down.

"So it goes lower and lower…" Noted Anna.

Elsa saluted her cleverness. She liked how Anna always was more brilliant than it looked. "Yes. The more we go in the past, the deeper it gets."

"I see. It's both a metaphor and literal."

Her voice echoed in the tunnel they were walking in hand in hand, and Anna had fun with the sounds.

"ECHO! ECHOOO!"

She suddenly stopped. "Wait, this place isn't going to crumble, no?"

Elsa cackled with laughter. "No. It's very solid, trust me."

"Phew." Exhaled Anna. Then she resumed to her cute game of echo.

And her giggling voice instantly vanished the minute they arrived in a room with giant pillars, and a triangular entrance at the end. There were four lozenges with the elements symbols on them, and Anna forgot to breathe for a second because of how gorgeous it was. Elsa chuckled when the word 'gorgeous.' escaped her younger's lips.

"You like it?"

"Those pillars… That must have taken you forever to put them in place…"

Elsa smiled. "Only a few seconds, actually. I just moved them around."

Anna stared at her like the goddess she was to her eyes. "Is there _anything_ that you can't do?"

The Fifth Spirit smiled at the compliment, and gently nudged her forward.

"Make you go faster, for instance. Hurry up, I want you to arrive to the memories room _before_ your face gets completely numb by the cold."

Anna nodded. The temperature in this room already felt like a strong winter in Arendelle, and she could only imagine worse for what was coming.

She passed the triangular hole, almost breaking her neck as she looked at how big it was when she stepped in, and she gasped when she saw what was on the other side.

* * *

"It's a dome", informed Elsa, helping Anna out with her words, for she had completely lost any notion of vocabulary since she entered the bright white room of memories.

Anna looked down with a flabbergasted expression. "How high is it?"

Elsa shook her head with wide eyes. "I have _no_ idea."

She lifted her arms, taking in the whole place around them, her voice echoing. "You said the other day that I have the soul and skills of an architect… Well, if I started estimating the size of this room, I'd loose my mind."

"Is it infinite?"

"No, not quite. It's magical, with its own physical properties. It has rules that I still have to comprehend."

"It's really funny to see your nerdy personality mix passion towards science _and_ magic", Anna laughed, her breath appearing in little clouds of smoke.

Elsa smiled, but Anna's steam made her smile vanish again.

"Are you okay? How is the temperature?" Worried Elsa.

"I'm fine. I swear. It's like I'm stepping into a very cold winter day."

The Fifth Spirit stared at her, clueless.

"That means I can handle it." Clarified Anna, chuckling.

"Okay."

Anna got back to admiring the statues of memories, and she stopped in their walk to look at some moving ones from people she knew.

Elsa smiled at her reactions and kept going. There was some humidity in the air in one spot, and she recognized it as being recent memories. She turned it into ice statues with graceful moves of the wrists. In a swirl of snowflakes, three new living memories added themselves to the collection, slowly moving around.

The first one represented Kristoff, Anna and herself laughing loudly around the campfire as they were drinking hot chocolate. The third one was the rolling hug Elsa and Anna had made on the hill when they reunited. And Elsa blushed when she saw the second one.

Standing in front of her, the two statues showing herself and Honeymaren kissing deeply put her in a deep state of embarrassment. She had seen Anna and Kristoff kiss each other a thousand times, and now that she was in question, she felt that she should look elsewhere. Her cheeks felt like burning, and she couldn't help herself but watching how Honeymaren's arms hugged her, and how her hands passed through her hair. They actually were kissing vigorously, and Elsa turned at her sister in panic to make sure that she hadn't seen anything.

Hopefully, Anna was looking elsewhere, standing dozens of meters away and giggling at a memory of a young Kristoff getting licked in the face by a baby Sven.

Elsa sighed of relief, and lifted her hand to reluctantly shatter the statue with her magic. Then something prevented her from doing it. Deep inside her, a feeling begged her to let it there. Elsa stared at the statues, slowly turning around them, and a soft smile stretched her lips. She knew what that feeling was. Pride.

She was lucky, she knew, to have all her family accepting her and supporting her for who she was. A woman who loved women. And she knew that she would forever be grateful. But right then, she realized that she started to be grateful for herself. To have found her way, to have found the right person, to have allowed herself to be this happy.

A delight shiver passed through Elsa, as she stared at the statue and the way the two figures embraced. Even if the ice was never really detailed in the frozen memories, the blonde smiled when she saw how beautiful Honeymaren looked as she kissed her. They both had closed their eyes when they kissed mutually, so she didn't know how tender and sweet she actually looked.

At the thought of the word 'sweet', Elsa remembered the joke that Honeymaren had made about her nickname, and chuckled. She still couldn't believe how perfect the Northuldra was to her. She was kind, funny, yet they shared the same burning level of sarcasm, and she was caring, and…

"What are you laughing about?" Asked Anna, who had heard Elsa's chuckle echo in a crystalline way in the chamber.

"I, uh… I found a memory of us around the camp fire, from the other day."

The Spirit just had to turn her head left to pretend that she was staring at the other memory. She clenched her fist in a dear hope that Anna wouldn't come to her to see what she was talking about, and was glad to see that her younger preferred to continue her exploration of the spot she was walking through.

Time passed - which was such an odd thing in a room filled with memories from all ages slowly moving around - and Elsa was happy to see some good memories again. She appreciated to come in Ahtohallan every so often and bump again into warm memories of her past.

She walked past another memory of Hans, and grunted before vanishing the statue away. Didn't she have destroy them all? Apparently not. She turned to Anna, who was looking all around her.

"This place truly is magical", gasped Anna, admiring.

"Well, yes." Snorted Elsa.

"Don't laugh, you know what I meant."

"I think it's awesome too."

The redhead smirked, and she kept walking. "Hey, look! It's us!" She suddenly exclaimed.

Elsa joined her, and noticed a memory of them from two years ago in a sled race. They laughed together at how focused they were to be the one who wins.

Anna commented another memory, and another, and Elsa's heart melted at how much joy Anna was exhaling, and she shared her happiness to be there.

After a while, Anna came back next to her elder.

"There's not like, everyone in the world in here." She noted, admirably pointing that out already on her first visit. "Are those selected memories?"

Elsa nodded. "They're only memories that are relevant to me. Not all of them are directly linked to my own past. It also features some elements from others' pasts, that can help me."

Anna smiled and nodded too. "Speaking of… _"Helping"_ you…" Said Anna, doing exaggerated gestures of the fingers. "Now is the time we probably should ask… Them… or it… Why you got those flashes."

"Yes."

Anna cleared her throat. "Uh… O, Ahtohallan…" She said, her voice strong.

She then swiftly turned to her sister. "Is that the way to do it?" She whispered.

Elsa had to bite her lip not to laugh. "That's a bit pompous… And there's no need to speak up."

Anna grumbled. "We should have done a rehearsal or something."

She cleared her throat again. "Could you, uhm… Could you please tell us why you sent those visions to Elsa?"

Anna's voice echoed in the memories chamber. Only some distant sounds of memories filled the silence that followed.

The redhead looked around, and shrugged to Elsa.

Then suddenly, something in the air changed, and both sisters felt it. The room seemed to transform.

* * *

The chamber of memories changed its appearance, and Anna jumped of surprise as the ice statues seemed to disappear as the light dimmed. Elsa knew what it meant. Ahtohallan was about to plunge the room in the dark, to cast memories on the walls, like the very first time she had came in. The blonde smirked. Was her sense of staging and drama something she got from the magical source?

Anna looked around with a bit of panic. Elsa knew that she was claustrophobic, so she turned to her with a smile. "It's gonna be okay. Just stay still and look."

The younger nodded silently, and suddenly she saw something behind Elsa that brightened the whole place, and lit up her eyes in every meaning of the term. Elsa twirled around.

A memory of Iduna had appeared, and their mother was around the same age than the last time Anna had seen her alive. Elsa smiled tenderly, happy to face her again, but was used to see her wide and clear on the surface of the giant wall. Anna, however, let out a gasp and put her hands on her mouth, deeply emotional.

Elsa came next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand your worry." Said Iduna's voice, maternal and strong.

Her voice vibrated in the room, until their very souls, and echoed in Anna's ears like a melody she thought was long gone. She gulped, and her eyes looked at every inch of her mother's face, amazed to see her again.

The memory suddenly blurred and changed, now turning into one of Gerda.

"Though you have nothing to be scared about", said the maid in a reassuring voice and a warm smile.

She was bending forward, like she was talking to a small person, and it was clear that the memory was from Anna's childhood. It was from when she had scratched her knee after playing with her bike indoors.

The memory switched, and now Agnarr was facing them.

"It will be alright."

Anna gasped when she saw her father, letting out a big puff of smoke, and her lips trembled. Elsa passed a hand against her back, soothing her. She knew how overwhelming it could get to see their parents. She was used to it now, but for Anna, it was intense and incredible. Elsa let her cry, remembering how she had sobbed the first time she experienced the memories room.

Anna's eyes danced as she looked at the wall, watching every detail of the memory as her father's voice echoed all around, just like she did for her mother.

She understood the process now. Ahtohallan being a magical entity, it didn't have a body, and therefore spoke through the voice of different people across different memories. It was very clever, and the redhead would have admired the concept if she wasn't completely paralyzed by the fact that her parents had just appeared in a giant projection in front of her. She felt soothed to hear their voice again, but her soul was torn apart. It was a good thing Elsa was standing for real next to her, protective and warm, otherwise she would have lost her mind.

 _"Not too far or you'll be drowned…"_ She thought. _"No wonder, given how tempting it is to just be carried along and dive into the past…"_

Ahtohallan continued to give the explanation through memories, switching from one to another.

"You often doubted…" Said Olaf.

"That you would never…" Said Mattias.

"See each other again." Said Gerda.

Anna was taken aback, and Elsa's jaw dropped. She turned to her younger. "What are they talking about?"

The redhead was speechless. She knew that Ahtohallan knew everything, but didn't expected the truth to hit this close to home.

"Your biggest fear…" Continued the magic source, now using a memory of Kristoff. "…is to lose her."

Elsa's eyes widened, and she stared at the memory of Kristoff. This was a recent memory, she could tell. A very recent one, maybe even less than a week old. And she was shocked by both the memory in itself and what Ahtohallan wanted to highlight.

All color had left Anna's face, and it wasn't due to cold. She realized, little by little, that all of Elsa's visions had happened because Ahtohallan wanted to reassure her on the strength of their relationship.

"You have nothing to fear." Assured a memory of Iduna.

"You'll always have each other." Stated now Agnarr, smiling.

Elsa nodded, and smiled tenderly when she remembered the night their father had told them that. It was just after the bed time story where he had introduced them to the forest. They were so little… And it was still true. They would always have each other.

Anna sniffed, nodding to her father, or rather Ahtohallan. Elsa held her close and put her head on hers, and Anna naturally cuddled against her. Her eyes didn't leave her father's face.

The memory switched again, and this time is was Mattias again, but younger than the current version they knew of him. He was gazing over the forest.

"The two ends will always be united…" He smiled.

Both sisters dropped their jaws at what Ahtohallan meant, and smiled. They tied their hands together.

The colors of the room changed when the outside setting turned into an indoors one, mainly red due to Arendelle's castle wallpaper.

"You have the right to have doubts" Said a memory of Kai. "It's not because you're Queen that you must be sure about everything all the time."

Anna was shocked by the truth of those words, especially since it was the second time she heard them, the memory obviously belonging to her. Elsa smiled tenderly at how wise Kai was, and how nice it was of him to have told her that, probably in a moment during the past year where Anna lost some faith in herself.

Elsa's hand tightened her sister's harder, and she gave her a nod.

"They're right. It's okay if you doubted about us."

The switch from one memory to the other stopped, and all moving images around them seemed to stand still in the dome. Elsa lifted her head.

"So, each vision happened because you wanted to remind us that we'll always find each other? Always unite and find each other?" She asked.

"Yes", echoed Ahtohallan, using Iduna's voice - though it could have used anyone's with such a simple answer.

Elsa smiled, touched. She bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you. For showing us. I mean, you only could show me, but I'm happy that you did, as I shared it to Anna."

Speaking of, the redhead was lightly trembling next to her. When Ahtohallan's voices vanished slowly now that they had finished talking, and that the room returned to its initial state, the elder turned to her sister.

"So it was all because of you…" Muttered Elsa.

Anna felt devastated, her eyes filling with tears.

"I'm so sorry, Elsa, I didn't know…"

The blonde lifted her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm not reproaching anything. I'm just concluding."

Anna's closed lips trembled at her elder's kindness. She sobbed a bit before blabbering.

"But… This is all my fault. I didn't mean… It didn't want to make you have all those flashes and visions and to prevent you from sleeping, I…"

She started to hyperventilate - which was rather painful in such a cold place - and Elsa rushed to put her hands on her shoulders.

"Hey hey hey, Anna, it's okay. You didn't do it on purpose. And I'm not resentful. Remember that I trust Ahtohallan no matter what, and even if it was their entire act, I wouldn't have felt upset."

"But… But…" Muttered Anna, crying even more.

"But nothing." Smiled Elsa, holding her face with both hands and rubbing her younger's tears with her thumbs. "It's fine."

Anna powerfully embraced her sister, her face buried against her shoulder. The blonde wasn't surprised by the brisk hug, but missed a heartbeat anyway. Anna cried and cried, all the fear and stress of the past week getting out. Elsa cried a few tears as well, touched by her feelings.

It was a tight hug despite Anna's multiple layers of winter clothes, and Elsa could still feel her trembling. She knew she wasn't shivering from the cold. Anna was crying, ashamed and emotional at the same time.

The room beamed in its beautiful white light again, and the memories statues continued to move around, their soft sounds echoing under the dome. But the most important sound to Elsa's ears then, was the one of her little sister sniffing against her.

She held Anna against her, warmly and calmly, soothing her by passing her hand along her back.

"Anna… Now I get it. You were scared, and Ahtohallan perceived it. But it's okay. And I'm okay with it. You surely didn't want to talk about it because you were afraid of what I may say. Well, just know that I understand."

The younger didn't stop trembling as she was holding to her elder. Elsa closed her eyes and murmured to her ears in a lulling voice.

"I'll always be there. With you. We'll always be together despite the distance, okay? Look at how this past year went. It's been good, no?"

Anna nodded against her shoulder with a sniff, and clenched her elder harder. Elsa didn't think it was even possible, and got her lungs a bit crushed by it, but accepted the strong embrace. Anna was overwhelmed by everything that happened, from the apparition of her parents to the emotions that had burst in her chest. She needed a warm hug, and Elsa was gladly giving it.

Time passed, and the Fifth Spirit was unable to tell how much. Actually, she didn't care. She preferred to make sure that Anna was letting go of all her sadness, and all her fears. After a while, the redhead parted from the hug and sniffed one last time, rubbing her nose. She then blinked with a frown and cleaned all her face with energetic moves, determined to be strong.

"I'm okay. I'm done crying." She stated, clearing her throat.

Elsa melted in a smile, because she knew that Anna also stated this for herself.

"Was it good? Do you feel better?" Asked the elder.

Anna nodded strongly.

"Great." Smiled Elsa.

The redhead looked around, and Elsa wondered if she wanted to leave, or change her mind by walking through the memories again. She knew that the face Anna was making meant that she was thinking about a question, so she let her talk at her own rhythm.

"Can I ask you something?"

Elsa smiled. "Anything."

Anna nervously looked down before staring at her elder. "Can we come back here more often? Together?"

"Of course, Anna."

She put a hand on her arm. Anna remained silent, and Elsa bent her head, trying to understand her mood.

"What do you want to do now?"

Anna bit her lip. "Can we… Can we go back to the camp?"

Elsa smiled with a nod. "Yes. I agree, it's a lot to take in. We can come back another day."

"Thank you. For this, and the memories, and everything."

"You're very welcome."

They walked out of the room in silence.

Elsa looked up at the white magical ceiling as they left hand in hand, and smiled, like she gave a 'sorry for that' and a 'thank you' message to Ahtohallan at the same time. Before exiting the room, Anna also turned in gratitude.

* * *

Anna gasped when they stepped down the entrance stairs.

"Waoh, this is so weird now that we get out… The wind here is fresh, but it's still warmer than inside the glacier."

Elsa closed her eyes and hummed the salty smell of the sea. That was something she liked to do after visiting the memories room.

Anna unbuttoned a part of her coat, and took off her beanie.

"Well, that was an experience. That's not something I'll forget, that's for sure."

The elder smiled. "I suppose nobody forgets their first time in Ahtohallan."

"What now? Do you call Nokk?" Wondered Anna.

Elsa just had to lift her hand towards the Dark Sea, and like if their minds were connected, the water horse appeared out of the waves. It trotted cheerfully on the surface, and Elsa smiled before gently touching their forehead with hers. Their whole body froze with a beautiful sparkle, their mane turning to crystals.

When Elsa stepped back, the Spirit looked at her with expressive eyes, and the blonde chuckled.

"I'm okay. We're okay. Those were just happy tears."

Anna frowned, surprised.

"They know we've been crying?"

Elsa petted their nose. "Well, tears are water, no?"

There was a silence, and Anna just stared at them two. This didn't explain anything, and even brought more confusion. What, does the horse also know when people are thirsty?

Elsa was about to mount the Spirit, and Anna jumped forward.

"Hey, uh…"

The redhead bit her lip with a smile, looking at Nokk. Both Elsa and the water horse looked back at her, confused.

"What?" Asked Elsa.

"Can I…"

"You want to ride them? Be in front?"

Anna nodded with a grin. She looked like a 5 years old child, and of course Elsa couldn't say no.

"Nokk, what do you think?"

The Water Spirit stared at Anna for a moment, evaluating her. They trotted around her and the Queen held her breath, feeling like she was observed in every way. Her mouth in a thin line, her eyes followed the horse as it inspected her mood, her body, her intentions. After a few seconds, it neighed - which, in the Spirit style, sounded like a whale song - and jumped around.

Anna let out a gasp of relief, and smiled. "I was afraid it would say no."

Elsa was standing still, her jaw dropped. "They always say no to Honeymaren", she muttered.

The Queen didn't hear any jealousy in her tone, but she was surprised anyway. "Wait, what? Really?"

She carefully reached for their neck to caress it. It was an odd sensation, like passing a hand against a breathing window. "I get a preferential treatment?"

Anna giggled as she continued to pet him, and they looked like they appreciated her touch. "Good boy…"

"Not a boy", warned Elsa.

"Oh, yeah. Well, good horsie!" Smiled Anna.

"Uhm… Technically, they're not a horse either, but I won't get into details."

Anna wasn't listening to her, too busy petting the horse with a kissy pout. "Yeah, you like it, uh?"

"Anna…"

"Hm?"

"Please stop, this is embarrassing."

"Oh, come on. You want me to believe that you're respectful to _every_ Spirit and treat them as equals?"

"Well, yes!" Frowned Elsa, not very fond of the way Anna was muttering 'good horsie, good horsie' in loops.

Her younger gave her a side look filled with sarcasm. "Have you ever seen yourself petting Bruni?"

Elsa blushed. That was a strong counterpoint.

"It's… With Bruni, it's different! He's… He's cute, and…"

Nokk turned to her vividly with offence in their eyes.

"No, wait, it's not what I meant!" Gasped Elsa.

"Ooooh, look at that. You made them jealous." Smirked Anna.

The Water Spirit was famously susceptible, and moved their mane in a dramatic way. Elsa knew the situation was doomed. The horse snorted, vexed.

"No, of course not!" Assured Elsa, and Anna wondered what he had just said, or rather which emotion they just shared. "I'm sorry, Nokk, that's not what I wanted to say. You know I don't."

Indeed, the Spirit felt in her that she genuinely cared, so they forgave her. However, it didn't take away any of the drama, and Nokk kept snorting and turned to Anna. Elsa dropped her jaw.

"Oh, come on now. You can't be serious."

"What did they say? What did they say?" Asked Anna, excited like a gossip fan looking for controversy.

Elsa put her hands on her hips.

"That if I'm not happy, I can still go back to the shore on foot."

Anna burst with laughter, her head wiping back. The Nokk joined in the laugh with a happy neigh.

"Okay, haha, very funny." Squinted Elsa.

"They're right, you know. You can just run. The sea is calm today."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

Nokk neighed and bumped her shoulder in affection. Elsa smiled tenderly.

"Yes, let's go. Anna, do you need help to mount?"

"I'm good, I'm good", groaned Anna, her voice distorted by effort as she tried to get on Nokk's back without slipping.

Once she was in place, and that Nokk and Elsa both made sure she was comfortable, the Fifth Spirit jumped behind her in one swift move.

The water horse didn't need any order or indications, knowing the way back to the camp by heart. It started to position in front of the sea, and waited for Anna's signal.

"Are you ready?" Checked the Queen, putting a hand on Elsa's, who had them around her waist.

She heard her chuckle in her ear. "Go slowly at first if you don't want to slip out, you excited dork."

"No chance. I like fast."

She firmly indicated to Nokk to dash forward, and the two sisters crossed the waters with shared laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an emotional chapter! But filled with happiness as well. I really wanted to have this balance of nostalgia and humor, keeping it all in-character on how would Anna react within the walls of Ahtohallan.
> 
> Thank you so much for your feedbacks and compliments and reactions, folks, they truly mean a lot! :D
> 
> Btw, if you like my writing, you can check out 'Untangling the Frozen Knots' in my bio ;)


	9. We'll continue to do this together

**Chapter 9: We'll continue to do this together**

"What do you mean, all snowflakes are different and yet the same?"

"That's the whole paradox." Smiled Honeymaren. "Each pattern is different - that's why it's so beautiful - and yet they have the same shape."

Ryder blinked. She had lost him at the word 'paradox' anyway. He preferred when they simply talked about staff fighting after staff fighting. That was an annoyingly complex discussion.

"So they all have eight branches?" He asked.

"No, actually snowflakes are hexagonal."

"What?"

"It means that they have six ends, you dummy."

He pushed her. "Don't call me that, _dummy_. And…" He puffed. "As if all of them had. Come on."

"It's true. Elsa told me."

"You know that she can reindeershit you anytime, right? You would still believe her even if she told you that she can teleport."

Honeymaren slapped his arm in a joking way, but it was violent nonetheless and he let out a 'aoh!'

"It's actual science, Ryder! That's how snowflakes work."

He smirked at her as he rubbed his arm.

"Oh, so _now_ you're using science to explain magic? Where's the Spirits number one fan I knew and what have you done with my sister?"

Honeymaren eye-rolled. "I'm talking about actual snowflakes. For Elsa's magic, how it works… Only Ahtohallan knows. Literally, in fact."

"Speaking of…" Said Ryder, seeing how dreamy Honeymaren's eyes were at the mention of Elsa's uniqueness. "They haven't come back yet?"

Honeymaren looked over the horizon. As if on cue, something shimmered in the distance.

Ryder's face got knocked by his sister's staff when she suddenly dropped it at the second she saw Nokk's shining body arrive in the Northuldra village.

Anna looked at Honeymaren running to them as she stroke the water horse's neck to slow them down.

"Els, you're back!" Exclaimed the brunette, smiling widely, her face beaming.

"Els?" Repeated Anna, smirking.

Elsa gave her a squeeze of the shoulder when she got down from Nokk, and it was obvious that she didn't do it to keep her balance. Anna smiled internally at how it meant 'Don't you dare comment her cute nickname'.

The blonde barely had put both feet on the ground that Honeymaren was holding her arms.

"I'm so happy that you're back."

Elsa melted in a smile. "I told you I won't be long. You never get worried when I go to Ahtohallan and back, why were you so stressed this time?"

"I'm not stressed. I'm just glad you're back so you can tell Ryder that snowflakes are hexagonal."

"I… What?"

They all looked at each other, and Ryder approached. He heard what his sister said, so he tapped her head with her staff that he picked up. "Stop bashing."

The Sami woman giggled, and Elsa shook her head with a smile.

"Uhm, any help here?" Asked Anna, with some sarcasm in her voice, aware that her elder was in another world when Honeymaren talked to her.

"Oh, sorry." Rushed Elsa.

She gesture to her Spirit friend. "Nokk, could you bow? Or go in the river if you need to take a break."

The Water Spirit picked the second option. Not that carrying Anna and Elsa was exhausting - they were very light anyway - but Anna had talked all the way back and they really needed a bubble of silence, in all meanings of the term.

They were used to Elsa's silent rides that were only intense by the shared emotions, and not to an overwhelmed talkative person whose elder never silenced and listened carefully.

With some hops, they came to a nearby stream, and slid in it, allowing Anna to go down. Elsa caught her hand just in time before she fell into the water.

The redhead gasped a bit and grabbed her sister before losing her balance. She then frowned as she saw a wave going away, like if Nokk puffed without turning back.

"I still feel like they don't like me." Pouted Anna.

Elsa smiled. "Nonsense. They laughed with you on Ahtohallan's shore. You two get along well."

"But they kept snorting when we rode the Dark Sea. It was like they tried to make me fall!"

"Or to make you stop talking…" Murmured Elsa.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Smiled Elsa. "Come on, let's get to my hut. You need some rest, this had been a tiring journey."

Anna simply nodded.

Honeymaren and Ryder followed them to the tent. Anna lied down on the bed, and Ryder had never seen someone fall into sleep that fast. All Elsa needed to do was to pass her finger on her nose and that was it? What kind of magic was that?

He exited the tent but Honeymaren stayed, and she approached Elsa as Anna slept against her, snoring. She noticed how the younger had her head against her arm, curled to her sister.

"How was it? What happened?" Inquired Honeymaren, whispering.

"We had the answers we were looking for." Smiled Elsa, on a low voice as well.

The Sami came to sit next to her.

"You know the reason behind the visions you got?"

Elsa nodded.

"So, what kind of emergence was that?" Asked Honeymaren.

The blonde had an emotional smile, and looked down at her little sister.

"Her worst fear."

Honeymaren looked at Anna, then her sister.

"Losing you. Isn't it?"

"Yes. The first vision was of her being alone where she needed me, the second one of me being alone where I needed her. We were separated with that… Darned door, and we had no contact with each other. And then Ahtohallan sent me that third vision. And it was a memory of us meeting at my coronation, and despite the years of isolation, despite all the emotions going through our minds… We forgave everything and only wanted to initiate contact to talk to each other. Despite everything life threw at us, we found each other again, and joined on our own."

Honeymaren stared at her, sighing with a smile. "This is beautiful."

Elsa smiled as well. "The past has showed its truth. We've always been together, and we'll always be together."

She passed a hand in Anna's hair, and the redhead smiled softly in her sleep.

* * *

"You're awake."

Anna blinked weakly as she sat up, then yawned. Little by little, the blurry vision of Honeymaren became clear.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Just the time of a nap, don't worry."

Anna scratched her hair, and moaned at the sensation of her hand getting instantly stuck here. "My hair is a mess, isn't it?"

Honeymaren giggled. "Yep. And I wonder how you can even sleep with all the movements you make."

Anna was already trying to brush her mane back to its normal state.

"Have you been _staring_ at me when I slept?"

"Elsa asked me to watch over you while she's outside."

"Outside? Where is she?" Asked Anna, and the Northuldra perceived how her voice had raised, all drowsiness leaving her throat.

"She's okay." Reassured Honeymaren. "Just in the village, preparing food with Yelena. She always have a lot of energy after a ride with Nokk. I wonder if they boost her magic or something."

Anna smiled. "Possibly. Or she's just a very happy horse girl."

The redhead started to tie her hair in two braids.

"A _real_ horse girl wouldn't wear the kind of outfit she has, though."

"Well, she has pants. So it's already a good step."

"True."

They both giggled. Honeymaren smirked.

"I love her outfit. But sometimes its… Ugh. Do you have any idea how many times I accidentally stepped on her double cape? Or train, or whatever she calls it?"

Anna burst with laughter.

"Oh, I do. I took me a while to get used to it as well."

Since the Great Thaw, pretty much everyone in Arendelle knew that it was better to give Elsa a security perimeter when she visited the village, just to avoid walking on her train if her outfit had one. And given her specific sense of fashion, she very often had one. And now, her new double-train wasn't any more help.

Anna shook her head.

"You should ask her to melt them. She did when I rode behind her. She sometimes sort of take them off when we have events in the castle. Trust me, everyone steps on it. And she _knows_ it, and yet _keeps_ crafting them."

Honeymaren smiled. "No, I won't ask her to make them disappear. She likes them."

"Of course she does." Said Anna with an eye roll. "That's her whole drama-extra problem."

"I like them too. They look like wings when the wind blows in them."

The brunette had a dreamy gaze, staring at nothing and lost in her thoughts, then realized what she had just said. And widened her eyes.

"Oooooh, how cute. She reminds you of an angel?" Giggled Anna.

"Don't make this embarrassing. I just spoke my mind."

"And I heard it very well. That was adorable. She _does_ look like a bird with them, you're not wrong." Noted the redhead, holding her chin with a thinking pout.

Honeymaren fidgeted with the blanket in a long silence. "I like how creative she is about her clothes. She conceives such beautiful outfits. For someone who's been used to leather and fur coats for all my life, I never cease to admire her."

"I bet." Nodded Anna with a shared smile. "Your eyes sparkle every time she uses her magic next to you. I can't _believe_ that she didn't see you had a crush on her ages ago already."

"And you didn't tell her? Or at least gave her hints?"

"Of course not. I let her find it out by herself. And it was the best way to see if it was mutual, you know. Also, if I told her so soon, she would have buried herself in ten meters of snow."

Honeymaren stared at her with fear. "Is it something… She does… Often?"

Anna had to restrain herself from laughing at the look the Sami woman just gave her. "No, no… It's just an expression. Though she does isolate herself when she's upset."

"Yes, I noticed. But I'm okay with it. She's a hell of an introvert."

"She is." Nodded Anna. "And you must know that she can reach _very_ exaggerated levels of isolation if she's in a bad mood. You'll have to give her some space sometimes, I'm sorry but it's important."

"Don't worry, I'm okay with it. I understand."

The Northuldra winced with humor however. "I just hope that she doesn't create another gigantic ice palace in the Giants' valley."

The Queen giggled. "She misses it a bit. She hasn't built it again since it collapsed after… You know. But I feel like she won't do it. Her new place is here. With you."

That put a silence, and Honeymaren wanted to ask if what Anna meant by 'with you' was 'with the Northuldra' or 'with you, specifically, Honeymaren, her lover'. She preferred to keep silent, and swallowed her question.

"She also has Ahtohallan as a sort of place of reflection, now, though. So there's no big need. On that note, is there something you still wonder about her magic?"

The brunette lifted a finger. "Well, there _is_ something that surprised me the other day."

The Queen lifted an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Honeymaren warned her with a caution gesture.

"This is going to sound weird. You might freak out."

Anna stared at her, then snorted. "I literally have trolls as in-laws, Honeymaren. Try me."

The Northuldra smiled, then cleared her throat.

"I tickled her nose with a feather, and… Uhm… She, uh… She sneezes snowmen."

Anna's laughter suddenly filled the tent, and she rolled on the sheets.

"What, that's _normal?_ " Panicked Honeymaren.

"Oh dear, there are many things she still hasn't told you, uh?"

* * *

As she stepped outside, Anna met her sister who actually was walking to her with a giant smile.

"You'll never guess who I just saw when picking wood."

Anna just had to look behind her to see Kristoff, and she gasped in delight.

"Kris! What are you doing here?"

He walked to her with the same enthusiasm, her joy being contagious, and he laughed too. They kissed, and he looked at her.

"I wanted to make sure that everything was alright."

"It's nice of you to have come to check on her." Smiled Elsa.

She hugged Olaf who had come along too, and scratched Sven's neck.

The Fifth Spirit then noticed that they seemed to have come on foot, yet looked loaded with many bags like they came with a wagon. She frowned, about to ask the question, but the blond gave an answer as he kept talking.

"We actually meant to arrive earlier. But we…" Said Kristoff, turning to Olaf. "…had a little mishap on the road."

Anna got worried. "What was it?"

Olaf had a nervous giggle and a sorry face. Elsa knew that look very well.

"Don't tell me that you blew up the wagon _again?!_ "

Anna let out a sigh, Kristoff a grunt, Sven a nod and Olaf a even more nervous giggle.

"What do you mean, "again"?" Frowned Honeymaren.

"Long story", said all of Frohana in one voice.

The Northuldra didn't insist much, especially after seeing how Elsa pinched the top of her nose.

"Olaf… How did you even do it this time?" Grumbled the Spirit, who in that moment gave the impression that she was a mother lecturing her child.

The snowman winced. "There was this hill, that Mattias told me about… Very beautiful place, romantic even. I wonder if he goes there with–"

"Go to the point, Olaf." Sighed Anna.

"The wagon blew up."

"Yeah, uh, a bit before that."

"It got set on fire."

The sisters grumbled, and Honeymaren approached with a soothing tone. "I think they want to know how you set it on fire, and that's all, Olaf."

"Oh. Well, that's because I didn't pay attention when I was driving up the hill, and Kristoff's lantern dropped in the back and everything went into flames."

The women blinked, not knowing which part of the sentence they had to focus on first.

Kristoff was about to say something in his defense, but Anna turned to him very slowly with a menacing frown. " _You let him DRIVE?_ "

"Okay, okay, I know it wasn't a good idea…" Whined Kristoff, clenching his eyes shut.

"That's the _worse_ idea." Sighed Elsa.

"He wanted to!" Insisted Kristoff, and Olaf nodded with a squeak of snow.

"He's FOUR!" Exclaimed Elsa.

That put everything in perspective, and they all remained silent.

"I'm actually 3 and three quarters, but it's working in my favor." Muttered Olaf.

They were about to tell him to not add anything, and Kristoff raised his hands.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just thought it would be nice to make him have the reins for once. Even Sven agreed."

The reindeer grunted, admitting his mistake.

"And that was an awesome moment." Grinned Olaf. "For the eight minutes it went on."

Elsa and Anna did a synchronized facepalm.

Honeymaren laughed. "It's okaaaay. Everyone is safe now. You can borrow a wagon of us to return to Arendelle. I'm sure that the merchants will agree if you give it back."

She couldn't help herself to joke. "…If you give it back intact."

Olaf lifted a twig. "I raise my right hand and I swear."

Anna smiled.

"That's your left hand, Olaf."

"Oh."

* * *

After spending time together, night fell on the forest, and they all enjoyed evening activities. Honeymaren, Elsa and Kristoff sat together around a fire.

"The wind of the afternoon has calmed down", noted Kristoff with a smile. "The forest sounds are relaxing."

"Yeah, nights here are rather calm." Smiled Honeymaren.

She turned to Kristoff.

"And how are nights in Arendelle with Anna?"

"Our bed life goes very well, thanks for asking", scoffed Kristoff.

Elsa spat all the tea she had in mouth, Honeymaren dropped her jaw, and Kristoff realized too late what he had just said.

"I mean… It's… We…" He blabbered, blushing deeply. He was turning red so fast that he looked like he was about to explode.

Elsa coughed loudly and tried to recover her normal breathing as she felt what was exactly in between a heart attack and a burst of laughter. Honeymaren kept staring at Kristoff as he buried his face in his hands, her eyes fascinated by his slip of the tongue.

"Well, I did not ask for _that_ , but thanks for telling anyway. It's nice to see you're this comfortable to share." Smirked the Northuldra.

"I thought you meant… I thought you meant something else." Said the man.

Elsa kept coughing, and the brunette tapped on her back to help her. After a while and Honeymaren's care, the Spirit wheezed and got her voice back. She lifted a hand.

"Are you… Are you serious?" She said, coughing on a laughter.

"What?" Blushed Kristoff. "Of course I'm serious. We're serious. We're engaged, and live together, and…"

He made a gesture with his hands that universally meant 'we went forward in our relationship', and Honeymaren burst of laughter. Elsa wished she had not seen this, and clenched her eyes shut like they just burned.

"Kristoff!" She scolded. "No need for details."

"I didn't say any."

"Yes, but I'm picturing the scene in my mind now and…"

"I didn't put it there." Noted Kristoff.

"No, you had to put _it_ in the bed…" Cackled Honeymaren.

"HONEYMAREN!" Exclaimed both Elsa and Kristoff, disgusted.

The Northuldra laughed so hard that she almost fell to the ground.

"What's all the laughing about?" Inquired a curious voice behind them.

They suddenly all shut their mouths and stiffened when they recognized Anna's voice.

"NOTHING." They all said in unison.

The redhead frowned with a sarcastic expression as she sat next to them. "Waoh, _that_ was suspicious as heck."

"We weren't saying anything." Urged to say Kristoff.

"Yeah, nothing important at all." Lied Elsa too.

She discreetly moved her hand and froze Honeymaren's toes before the latter could open her mouth. She gasped and remained silent as she gave a stare to Elsa, but Anna wasn't fooled any second.

"You do know that I rule a country, right?"

She looked at each of them like they were children, or rather some diplomats very bad at pretending.

"I know a lie when I see one."

They didn't say anything and just bit their lips.

"So, what were you talking about just then?"

Kristoff hated to lie to her, so he explained that he made a rather shaming innuendo.

Elsa closed her eyes with a sigh. "I just want you to know that I did not ask for this and I will not ask for more."

Anna crossed her arms with amusement. "Oh yeah? Who asked then?"

Kristoff vividly pointed at Honeymaren, Elsa pinched the top of her nose, and Honeymaren pointed at a reindeer calf who happened to be sleeping nearby.

Anna shook her head. "You're impossible."

Honeymaren smiled and lifted her hands.

"I really didn't mean to ask about your sex life, I just wanted to know about…"

She interrupted herself when she saw the reaction of everyone. At the word 'sex', she got a concert of hisses, blushes and widen eyes.

"Honey, please stop talking", muttered Elsa, who wished to be stepped on by an Earth Giant this very instant.

Anna cleared her throat. "Okay…"

Elsa gave a peek at her between two fingers of the hand she used to cover her face in embarrassment. But Anna didn't look upset. In fact, she was even grinning.

"Well, as long as Kristoff hasn't told you about what we do, I think we're good with privacy", she said with amusement as she poured herself some herbal tea.

Kristoff almost dropped his mug at her sentence, and Honeymaren wheezed hysterically.

"Oh my goodness…" Grumbled Elsa.

"What?" Smiled Anna, drinking her tea.

"Can you not? I'm your _sister!_ I don't want to… Picture… This kind of stuff!" She said with nervous moves of the hands.

"Nobody has specified anything." Pointed Anna.

"And only Ahtohallan knows what happens there…" Giggled Honeymaren.

She suddenly gasped, grabbing Elsa's arm so fast that the blonde jumped.

"Wait, can you _see_ that in ice memories?"

Elsa's eyes widened. "WHY WOULD I WANT TO SEE IT?!"

The Northuldra shrugged. "Or maybe Ahtohallan show it to you un-requested."

 _"WHY WOULD IT SHOW THAT TO ME?"_ Screamed Elsa in a high-pitched voice, shocked and alarmed.

"Alright, Els, I was only kidding."

A Northuldra woman approached with a sorry face.

"Excuse me, could you lower your voices? I'm trying to put my children to sleep."

Elsa turned with a gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Nora."

"It's my fault", apologized Honeymaren with a wince.

Kristoff and Anna presented their excuses as well, but now that Honeymaren put the blame on herself, the said Nora had her hands on her hips, and her eyes sent bolts to Elsa and her girlfriend. Anna was surprised to see how ashamed her elder looked.

"How come, every time something awakes my children, it's always you two?"

Elsa smirked nervously, and Honeymaren gave her a 'oops' side look.

"A snow storm the other night, and now that?"

"I'm so sorry." Said Elsa.

"It won't happen again", promised Honeymaren, serious now.

The Northuldra squinted, and went back to her tent.

Anna stared at Elsa with confusion.

"You made it snow at night?"

Elsa lifted a defensive hand.

"I didn't mean to! Honeymaren did it!"

She widened her eyes at her own words. Now she was the one who slipped information that she didn't mean to.

" _She_ made it snow?" Frowned Anna, looking at Honeymaren.

She didn't understand the purpose of making magic snow at such a time. Snow was naturally going to fall soon with Winter approaching, and who would she make happy with some snowflakes at night? And also…

"How did _Honeymaren_ make it snow?" Anna asked.

There was a silence. Elsa looked elsewhere with red cheeks, and Honeymaren simply smiled. The redhead frowned.

"What, did she provoke it? How-"

Anna's eyes widened.

"OH MY GOODNESS."

* * *

The day afterwards had a clear blue sky, with a soft weather, perfect to travel back to Arendelle. Kristoff checked every travel bag as he prepared the wagon, happily rented by a merchant who regularly traded between the two lands.

"Yep, everything's here. We're good to go!" He said to Anna, his thumb up.

Anna nodded from where she was, finishing her conversation with Honeymaren.

"You should come to charades night next Friday. I'm sure you're good at that game." Smiled Anna.

"You think so?" Wondered Honeymaren.

The redhead shrugged. "Well, you can't be worse than Elsa."

"Hey, I heard that!" Said a voice in the distance.

Anna giggled. "Truth hurts!"

Elsa shook her head from where she was. "Wait, where's Olaf?"

Kristoff pointed at the spot where Sami kids were usually playing, and how the snowman was giving rounds of hugs to make sure that everyone got a warm one. Elsa melted into a soft smile. Some children were crying a bit at Olaf's departure, and he promised that he would come back soon to play with them 'and talk about maturity stuff'.

"He didn't join us yesterday night when we were talking around the fire", noticed Elsa, thinking out loud.

Kristoff smiled like he expected that question. "Yeah, he's taking some distance lately. In the good way," he added quickly, to not worry Elsa. "He prefers to hang with children and teenagers now. Adult conversations don't interest him."

"I see." Smiled Elsa. She then giggled. "It's not a bad thing that he wasn't here… We the… Specific conversations that we had, and I wouldn't have liked to explain them further."

Kristoff and her laughed.

Elsa looked at Olaf from afar. The snowman was growing up, she could tell. Not physically, obviously - and he had already asked Elsa to not change anything about his appearance that he said was perfect - but psychologically. He asked clever questions, he read more and more, he even sometimes helped Anna with paperwork. Yet he stayed a child at heart, and this paradox make Elsa smile again. What was this feeling? Was it maternal pride?

The mountaineer gave a sign to Olaf once he was done saying goodbye to everyone 'of his age', and he ran to them with a squeaky sound of footsteps while Kristoff hugged Elsa.

"Take care", he said, tapping her back a bit.

"You too." Smiled the Fifth Spirit.

She looked at Olaf. "And try not to blow up the wagon this time."

The snowman giggled, and tackled Elsa's legs into a hug. The blonde put a hand on his shoulder to push him gently, before crouching to be at his level and hug him properly. He squealed in happiness, and they embraced tightly.

Someone ran to them with heavy and noisy footsteps, and practically jumped on them to add herself to the hug.

Elsa giggled when the red mane touched her face. "Anna!"

"We like warm hugs." Muttered the Queen, closing her eyes and clenching Olaf and Elsa.

Kristoff joined in, and Elsa stretched her arms so she could hold everyone. Even Sven joined him, his muzzle against Kristoff. She sighed in happiness, bathing in family love. But someone was missing. The blonde opened her eyes and searched for Honeymaren, who was looking at them with her arms crossed.

Elsa indicated her to come with a finger gesture.

"What? No, this is your moment." Insisted Honeymaren, shaking her head. "I don't want to take it from you, this is your family th–"

Gale suddenly appeared from nowhere and bumped her butt to make her go forward.

"Alright, alright", grumbled Honeymaren, but she smiled when she saw Elsa thank the Spirit with a laugh and have a delighted smile as she approached.

She hugged as many persons as she could, but obviously her right hand was holding Elsa tight, and they all hugged in the warm morning light.

After a while, they all parted, and said goodbyes. Elsa and Anna's hug was the longest for obvious reasons.

"I'll always be with you, okay?" Murmured Elsa, so only her little sister could hear it.

"I know." Answered Anna, whispering too. Her hands held Elsa harder. "I love you."

"I love you too, sis."

They stared at each other for a moment, and finally smiled. Anna jumped aboard the wagon, and Elsa joined Honeymaren and the other Northuldra who had gathered next to the elements stones to watch them go.

"See you on Friday!" Waved Anna as Sven turned the wagon around.

Elsa waved back, until she realized that she actually was talking to Honeymaren. She turned to her.

"Wait, you're coming?"

The Sami woman looked at her like she did a mistake. "Oh, does that make you uncomfortable? I'm sorry, I should have asked before, maybe you don't want me to come to family game night yet. I should have told you, I…"

Elsa kissed her on the cheek. Honeymaren froze, and blinked.

"Not at all", smiled Elsa, looking at her with love. "This is a great idea."

Honeymaren blushed a bit. She grinned and kissed Elsa on the cheek in return, and the latter giggled.

From her seat, Anna twisted her back to watch them before they got too far. She smiled at their love. "This is a nice last view."

Kristoff wondered what she was talking about, but was too focused on driving and indicating Sven to go forward. "Yah!"

The reindeer galloped, Olaf jolted in joy, and Anna waved at her sister until her and Honeymaren were tiny points in the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warmth of love in every way! I had fun dressing a range of all types and write about them with tenderness and lots of humor haha. What did you think of it?
> 
> This was the penultimate chapter! Chapter 10 will be the last :D And it ends well, I promise. I'll be back with other fanfics and drabbles in the future for sure!
> 
> Come on now, you deserve a little teaser: chapter 10 is a short epilogue focused on Elsamaren. Just chilling!


	10. Just chilling (Epilogue)

**Chapter 10: Just chilling (Epilogue)**

It was a known fact now that Honeymaren and Elsa lived together. It took a while for both women to take that decision. For Elsa, because she needed a long time of reflection for such a decision than the one of welcoming Honeymaren in her tent to live with her; and for Honeymaren herself, who usually was fast in taking decisions, but who kept insisting to her girlfriend that she had all the time in the world to agree on that change, even if mutual.

Which, Ryder underlined, was the worst idea ever.

"She'll take forever to decide now." Sighed the Northuldra man.

Honeymaren had punched his arm at his sentence.

"Aoh! Why are you always so violent when I talk about her?"

"Stop being mean about Elsa if you don't want me to kill you."

"Oh yeah. Because my sister is famously known for being a massive murderer. You wouldn't even kill a moth last summer."

He got kicked to the ground by Honeymaren's staff, and he didn't add anything for the whole day. And took a mental note to never anger his sister during morning fight session.

Honeymaren wiped the sweat off her face with her towel as she giggled with other Sami girls. Sighing in the typical happiness after early training, she walked to Elsa's tent - their tent, she corrected in her thoughts.

She walked for a while. The Fifth Spirit's tent was isolated from others. It was at one of the borders of the village, but not too far so nobody felt like she was out of the camp, and children were happy to have space around the tent to play with her ice games when she made some.

The brunette smiled at the memory of the moment she had asked Elsa how okay she was to not have her little fortress of solitude anymore. Elsa had laughed openly in a soft way, and assured her that she had Ahtohallan for that. Another thing that Anna was right about.

With a smile, Honeymaren entered the tent… And she suddenly blinked at the surprising heat in it.

"WAOW! What the–"

She looked around for Elsa.

"What the heck happened here? Did you make a fire?"

Elsa stopped right in her move, a wood log in her hand, about to add it to the stove in the middle of the room. She looked at her girlfriend with wide eyes, her mouth still.

"I thought you were going to like it."

"Like it?" Scoffed Honeymaren. "Elsa, it's like a _thousand_ degrees in there! I feel like I just stepped into a volcano!"

The Spirit frowned. "You once went into a volcano?"

She then realized how stupid she could get when her brain was too distracted on Honeymaren.

"No, of course you haven't." She muttered, shaking her head.

The Northuldra stepped in, fanning her collar.

"I'm so sorry", rushed to say Elsa, spraying ice into the stove. "I just have no idea what chilling air is. I don't know what's the discomfort limit, and as I used to live alone in this tent until now, I thought it would be too cold for you and that–"

Honeymaren put her hand on her shoulder to interrupt her. It was really efficient, for every time she touched Elsa, she instantly stopped talking and thinking.

"I'm fine. It's perfect. I actually needed that heat, it's getting cold outside. But nuances and appropriate measures are something we need to work on, okay?"

"Definitely." Exhaled Elsa, agreeing. She really needed to know what was best for them both.

There was a silence.

"You can lower the temperature of a dozen degrees at least." Indicated Honeymaren.

"Oh, right, sorry." Hurried Elsa, and she refreshed the logs.

The Sami looked at her with a touched smile. "No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong. I truly appreciate the gesture."

A smile appeared at the corner of Elsa's lips.

"I'm quite surprised that you didn't set the tent on fire." Joked Honeymaren.

Elsa stuck her tongue out.

"How was training?" She asked, changing the topic.

"Great as always."

"Did you let Ryder win?"

"Pff. No."

"Honeeeeey…" Sighed Elsa, bending her head. "You should let him win someday."

"What? Oh, you're so soft. He has to earn his victory. If he can't beat me, he has to train more." Smirked the Northuldra, cracking her fingers.

Elsa shook her head.

"Let me guess, you let Anna win from time to time so she doesn't get angry?" Eye-rolled Honeymaren.

"She actually wins sometimes. And I don't really have a competitive mind."

Her girlfriend giggled. She knew that very well.

"Say, are you done with the… Whatever that obsession with making me comfortable was?" She asked, smiling. "Because I need your help on something. Are you available?"

Elsa nodded.

"I'm all yours. No, wait, that sounded weird, I'm taking that back. I'm… Available."

They laughed, and went out of the hut.

* * *

A little blue ball bounced from a nearby log and uncurled, jumping on Elsa. Hopefully, she was used to those unprompted surprises from the salamander, and welcomed him with a giggle.

"Hi, Bruni. What's up?"

The Fire Spirit smiled and cuddled in Elsa's palms. The latter absentmindedly showered him with snowflakes, and turned to Honeymaren. "So? What is it? What did you want to show me?"

"Follow me."

That was an odd thing to ask, and quite useless, given that the Sami girl had grabbed Elsa's hand and started to walk to an isolated place of the forest. Bruni, curious like always, hopped down and followed them - curiosity really was the character trait that all the Spirits had in common, thought Honeymaren as she looked at how the salamander walked behind them with its tiny adorable steps.

"Where are you taking me?" Asked Elsa, smiling.

The brunette didn't answer, and gave a stare to Bruni with a silence sign, putting her finger on her mouth. The Fire Spirit tilted his head to the side, trying to understand why she looked like she wanted to make him keep a secret.

Elsa turned her head to him, sharing the confusion. Suddenly, Honeymaren kissed Elsa on the lips, and she blinked of surprise, then smiled and kissed her back. What started as an improvised kiss turned into a passionate one, and they kept their love rhythm for a long time.

Bruni squealed in embarrassment, and he closed his eyes as he became pink, his magic fire glowing like a blush. When he gave a peek by slowly opening his eyes, Honeymaren and Elsa had parted the kiss, and stared at each other with such devotion that it was obvious that they had forgotten Bruni's presence. They were looking into each other's eyes with their arms on each other's waist, relaxed and happy. Bruni perceived the message - mostly "Shoo! It's a private moment!" - and trotted away with a giggling squeal.

Honeymaren stared at Elsa.

"You're not blushing." She noticed.

"Should I?" Teased the blonde.

The Northuldra's hold on Elsa's hip got stronger.

"No, I'm happy that you've used to our intimacy now. And as we'll live in the same hut starting from today, I just wanted to make sure…"

"That I won't get embarrassed? Or bashful?" Completed Elsa.

"Yes." Nodded her girlfriend.

Now it was Elsa's hold which got stronger. And Honeymaren gasped, because she was pretty sure that it was even tighter than her own touch.

"You'll have to be the one who's going to get used to me in the hut." Smiled Elsa.

There was a beat.

"Wait… Did my sentence make any sense?"

Honeymaren laughed, and she hugged her close. "Not really, but I got it. By the way, you're a terrible flirt."

Elsa pouted, and knew that it was true.

"But it's okay!" Smiled Honeymaren on a reassuring tone. "You'll learn."

The Fifth Spirit switched to sarcasm. "What? From you?"

"Am I not a model?" Smiled the brunette, getting even closer to her, and now their noses were touching.

"Certainly not." Puffed Elsa.

"But we can learn from each other."

They got even closer, if that was even possible.

"I'd love that." Grinned Honeymaren.

She kissed her, and started to walk away the instant that followed. "Let's go take care of the reindeer."

Elsa grabbed her arm. "Wait. Didn't you need my help on something?"

Honeymaren thought that she was trying to hold her for more cuddling, but she was genuine. She puffed at Elsa's big caring eyes. She really did have a long work to do to make her better at flirting…

"Of course not, you ethereal idiot. That was a ruse to make you follow me without asking questions. You're the attentive and protective type. And it obviously worked."

Elsa pouted once again, but admitted that she was right, once again.

"So you don't need my help to take care of the reindeer?" Said Elsa, lifting an eyebrow.

Honeymaren's mouth opened in a perfect O when she heard her sarcasm. "Hold on, that's not what I meant."

"Byyyye", smirked Elsa, waving and turning around.

"No wait, Els, you know it's always easier when you use your magic! Hey, come here you dork!"

* * *

Several days later, or rather nights, the peaceful silence in Elsa's and Honeymaren's tent was interrupted by a light scratching of pen on paper.

Honeymaren finished noting the soup recipe Kristoff had asked for, taping her pen on her lips as she checked that she didn't forget any advice in the composition, and exact ingredients. She wanted to make sure that Kristoff would cook the best version of the soup. He had asked the recipe discreetly on his last visit, for he wanted to cook it for Anna on the upcoming cold Winter evenings, when she was so busy with royal paperwork that she barely had the time to eat.

The Northuldra smirked as she added 'Mix the butternut first if you want the soup to be even sweeter' in a corner of her notebook page. Once she was done, she detached the page and folded it at the light of the lantern next to her on the nightstand. She then closed her notebook and put it next to Elsa's on the ice cabinet. Honeymaren stretched her arm as she reached the surface, her tongue out, doing all the effort necessary to not go off the sheets to not wake Elsa up.

The blonde was sleeping next to her on the bed, but practically on her, one arm against her on her pillow, and the other on Honeymaren. The woman sighed at how beautiful she was in that position, and yet she had no clue. Honeymaren had lost the count of how many times she had told Elsa how beautiful she was in casual moments and that the latter had looked at her with a surprised face and a 'I do?'.

Elsa was a real extra and dramatic person who loved sparkly outfits, noticed Honeymaren, but paradoxically she had no idea how she was admired in daily moments where she didn't even bother about her appearance.

In this specific moment, Elsa had crafted herself a quick ice night gown that was like a second skin, too tired to make herself something more fancy before falling into bed. As Honeymaren was outside telling a story to the children, Elsa had entered their tent, turned her outfit into something lighter, fell on the sheets, and curled herself against the coat which the Northuldra had left on the bed that morning. Elsa obviously wasn't doing this to warm herself up; she liked the smell of her girlfriend in the winter clothes, and when Honeymaren entered the tent an hour afterwards, she wasn't surprised to see her sleeping tight to it with a smile at the corner of her lips. The blonde was holding her coat like a child would do with a comforter.

Elsa was exhausted, after spending her whole days helping the Giants build a valley up West to make an access for merchants. She was deep into slumber, and was sleeping with her mouth slightly open, breathing calmly. Honeymaren smiled as she observed her. She was very glad that Elsa was a Spirit with still a human body, and could feel tiredness and had to sleep, so she could admire her as she did so.

The Sami woman blew the candle out in the lantern she had lit up to write the recipe, and slid down the bed under the covers to be at Elsa's level. Only the light of the Moon passing at the top of the tent lit up her face, but her platinum blonde hair looked like it shone in the dark. Honeymaren smiled and softly put a kiss on her forehead.

Elsa moved at the sensation, waking up a bit, but fell right back to sleep.

"Yep, you're wrecked." Murmured Honeymaren.

She put the blanked on them both, even though, she knew, that it was of no use on Elsa, and she would soon toss it away in her dreams. She felt Elsa getting closer to her, and that was so soothing that she found sleep in no time.

* * *

They enjoyed the rise of the sun as they had their breakfast, and Honeymaren nudged her girlfriend as they ate.

"How _powerful_ are you, exactly?"

Elsa looked down with a smile. The brunette was lied down, her head next to her. Honeymaren's voice, as she asked that, was filled with concern and fascination at the same time.

"Well, we were bored on a rainy day with Anna once, and we kind of did the maths…"

"I thought that you couldn't estimate your magic with numbers."

"It's an expression." Smirked Elsa.

Honeymaren stared at her girlfriend with a challenging look, and twirled so her chin would be on her hands, lying on her stomach. "What is the most powerful thing you've ever done with your magic?"

The blonde smiled, and looked at the horizon.

"I switched an entire kingdom from Summer to Winter, once. Just because I was upset."

The Northuldra's jaw dropped, and the Fifth Spirit laughed at her reaction. She nudged Elsa. "You've never told me that!"

"Well, I don't really like to talk about it. It was four years ago, and I still am a bit ashamed about it…"

"I understand. But when blondie is upset, she's upset!" Giggled Honeymaren. "I've seen the state you can get into when you're angry. I pity the poor enemies."

Elsa wasn't smiling, however. Honeymaren's smile therefore vanished.

"You don't get it. I wasn't upset in that way." Stated Elsa, now grave. "I was scared, overwhelmed, and I lost control. I didn't do it on purpose. Also, that wasn't a foe kingdom. It was Arendelle."

The Sami woman got speechless. All those informations at a time… Her eyes widened as she processed everything.

"Elsa…" She muttered instinctively.

But to her surprise, the Spirit didn't seem to be sad in any way. Like it was all part of the past, and she had completely healed from it. The blonde looked down at the hand Honeymaren had just put on hers.

"I'm okay." Smiled Elsa, a bit weakly. "Anna helped. And I managed to thaw it all and bring back Summer. Thanks to her. She helped through the years, as well."

"To move on?"

The blonde nodded. "The Arendellians also were comprehensive and supportive. I didn't expect it, and it was really heartwarming."

Honeymaren smiled. "Even if some of them got severe colds?" She joked.

Elsa giggled at her humor. And the brunette enjoyed the return of happiness on her face in the early sun rays.

"Apparently, nobody got harmed. It's a miracle."

"Your magic is a miracle." Slipped Honeymaren.

Elsa turned to her with a touched expression and a light blush.

"…Thanks." Muttered the blonde.

The brunette took another chocolate treat from the box - Arendelle's finest, that Anna had brought as a gift - and a silence passed.

Elsa cleared her throat.

"So, yeah. That was the most powerful thing I've ever done. I think."

"This, and stopping a gigantic tidal wave."

"Oh, yes, also that."

"Hey, you did that sudden Winter _accidentally_. Imagine what you could do on purpose."

Elsa smiled. "Anna comments on that quite often. She says that if Arendelle is ever attacked or at war, we'll be safe and done with it before the first day of fight is even over."

The Northuldra laughed. "Especially with the help of the Spirits."

"Especially with the help of the Spirits", nodded Elsa, sharing her laugh.

She looked at Bruni, several meters below, playing with Gale and sticking his tongue out as he flew in the air.

"Well, some of us really aren't the fighting type."

Honeymaren smiled, and took a chocolate treat from the box.

"Think fast!"

"Uh?"

A chocolate treat bumped Elsa's mouth, and she grunted at the sudden shock.

"The heck?!"

Honeymaren cackled.

"Yep, your reflexes are really bad. We're screwed."

"Come here, you'll see if my reflexes are bad!" Threatened Elsa with a smile, suddenly standing up to tickle Honeymaren.

The latter hurried to roll away and stand up too, and gasped with a giggle as she ran out of her reach.

Elsa tried to catch her by grabbing her waist, and they kept running after each other in the forest, filling the woods with laughter.

* * *

THE END

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *bows* Tadaaa!:D I hope you enjoyed this fanfic just as much as I enjoyed writing it (read: a LOT). Thank you SO MUCH for all the awesome feedback you gave me, you all, it's really meaningful and touching. Whether you tell me you laughed, or cried, or squealed, it shows that you loved my work and I'm very happy!
> 
> The best compliment you guys gave me and that seems to come back again and again (to my delight) is that everything is "totally in-character". It's amazing. Even if most of Honeymaren's personality here is made up because we didn't get much of her in the movie, you still love to read about it and find it interesting and fitting to Elsa. Thanks!
> 
> I'm glad you like my style! If you want to read more of it, check out Untangling the Frozen Knots, it's my Frozen x Tangled crossover fanfic novel. It's 140K words long and available in paperback version. So comfyyyy! The link to get it is in my bio.
> 
> Cheers! See you on the next fanfic! ;)


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